


Becoming His Own Hero

by DramaticGarbage



Series: Becoming His Own Hero [1]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Creativitwins, Fight Scenes, Logince - Freeform, Other, Sympathetic Deceit, X-Men AU - Freeform, cuss words, deceit ship, familial moceit - Freeform, food/eating mention, mutant AU, sleepceit - Freeform, some shitty past family stuff, some violence? But not like a lot?, superhero au, this is the weirdest thing i dont know how to tag - consensual kidnapping?, yelling/arguing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-08
Updated: 2019-09-04
Packaged: 2020-02-28 13:23:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 39
Words: 55,765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18757288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DramaticGarbage/pseuds/DramaticGarbage
Summary: Mutants have to forge their place in the world... While also maintaining their human lives.(There's a few visuals and things over on my masterlist on tumblr for this if you'd like to see - https://not-so-innocent-bi-sander.tumblr.com/post/184745442216/becoming-his-own-hero-masterlist )





	1. Introductions

Every so often, a person would be born with strange abilities. Scientists had tracked the spontaneous event to be linked to a specific genetic mutation in one’s DNA. It was through no fault of their own, no fault of their parents, their beliefs, or their environment. It was simply how things were. Mutants were targeted for this regardless, unfortunately. Leading to the vast majority of them hiding their abilities to avoid persecution. Some lashed out, using their gifts for personal gain, causing others to rise up and fight against them, not wanting to tarnish their name even further. They wanted to find prosperity and harmony amongst humans, and these violent outbursts were the opposite of helpful. But even though many showed they only wanted to help protect those around them, the furthering of the cause was still slow going. Most humans still fear them, despite the fact they have been living amongst them for years and having no idea. It doesn’t matter though, those who have sworn to protect do so anyway.

—

Stormwatch let out a grunt of effort, having to take a step back as he shot lightning from his hands into the wave of minions approaching them. The things they were fighting back weren’t alive, they were magical constructs courtesy of the witch flying high above them in the sky. He normally would be flying himself, but he’d already been knocked out of the sky once today and wasn’t in a hurry to try that again. Pawsitivity was standing near to him, also doing his best to dispatch their enemies with his claws, swiping and scratching to keep them at bay to the best of his ability. He was also at a bit of a disadvantage, seeing as the minions they were fighting at the moment were all magical, his powers of emotion weren’t helpful in the slightest.

“This isn’t getting us anywhere! We need to stop her, not them!” The Diamond complained, looking around at his teammates standing near him, all of them working to keep the approaching armada from closing in on the circle of street they were keeping clear.

Red eyes flicked to him, pausing his attack with the metal staff he held in his hands. “Then what would you recommend we do?!” Nightmare’s echoey voice was always slightly off-putting, it was the nature of his fear based powers. They knew he projected himself to be as terrifying as possible, unsure if any of them saw him the same way seeing as his powers tailored his appearance to the fears he sensed from every individual.

“Yeah, we’re all ears, Sparkles!” The Sandman added, still shooting compacted balls of sand into the enemies around them, glad for the shaded visor he wore over his eyes when his projectiles burst against his foes.

The Diamond looked around, his gaze falling on Viper. “Hey! Snakeboy, give me the biggest lizard you got!” He shifted his form fully into diamond, his skin glittering in the street lights.

The man with the yellow scales dotting the left side of his body ran toward him, shifting into a large crocodile and jumping into his arms. “Batter up!” He yelled, his voice tinny and metallic in his altered state, spinning his body around to use the added momentum to throw Viper as hard as he could right at the witch floating in the sky.

The Dragon Witch’s attention shifted to the huge reptile flying toward her, letting out a shriek and her army on the ground flickering momentarily out of existence as she beat her great wings to dodge the gaping maw of teeth coming toward her. She barely escaped it, Viper sailing past her but shifting his form into a bird and then flying back to rejoin his group.

The Diamond cursed under his breath as he lowered his diamond form to no longer include his head, looking around for something else he could try and throw. The problem was that nothing was going to be as effective as…

“Hey, Dr. Freeze! Can I get a lift?” He yelled, turning to his final teammate.

Cryogenic rolled his icy blue eyes, but held his hands out toward The Diamond. As he built up a huge column of ice beneath his feet and sent him up into the sky, his eyes glowed even brighter. As soon as he was up high enough, Cryogenic formed an ice ramp that tilted up at the bottom, aimed right for The Dragon Witch.

Back in his full diamond state, The Diamond jumped up and began to slide down the ramp on his feet as though he were surfing. At the bottom he found himself turning upward and the momentum he gained from his heavy precious stone form sent him flying through the air at high speed.

Stormwatch lifted his arms, using his power over the wind to help steady and aim The Diamond toward their intended target. Even with her trying to dodge once again, he managed to grab her around the waist, her wings no match for the increased weight of his extremely heavy diamond form. They began to fall fast, him dragging them both down hard. The Dragon Witch struggled against his grip, but The Diamond was too strong and just too heavy. With a last strain of effort before they reached the ground, she let loose a huge burst of magic between the two of them, effectively blasting him off of her.

Once separated, she began to beat her wings once more to remain airborne and looked down at them as The Diamond landed on his feet on the ground, cracking the pavement slightly beneath him.

“I’ll be back! Don’t think this is over!” She screeched before turning and flying off, disappearing into the night sky.

Her army had disappeared around the time she’d been grabbed, leaving the seven men standing there in the glow of the street lights.

The Diamond let his form fall away, standing there triumphantly with his hands on his hips. “Yeaaah! We did it!” He cheered.

Pawsitivity was right there cheering with him, his cat-like ears, which had been turned back during the fight, were now up straight and tilted forward, showing just as much happiness as the huge smile on his face. “We did!”

Stormwatch had his arms crossed over his chest and a soft smirk on his face, looking around at all of them as they came together. Cryogenic was in a similar stance, glancing to the side to see Viper watching the other two while The Sandman And Nightmare were talking amongst themselves.

“Alright, alright. Places to be, things to do. See you all at the next catastrophe.” Stormwatch drawled.

“You mean Cat-tastrophe?” Pawsitivity giggled, looking back at the mutant in the black and purple hood.

“…Paws… No.” He groaned, letting his head fall back.

“Wordplay aside… I’m sure some of us do have places to be. If you’ll excuse me.” Cryogenic shook his head, agreeing with the weather-controller.

“Oh come on, frostbite… Surely you can make a little time?” The Diamond teased, dropping his voice into a flirtier tone and pursing his lips at him. Cryogenic immediately rolled his eyes, looking away from the consistently flirty man. As much as he would deny it if anyone accused him, he definitely felt warmth in his cheeks.

“…No. Now, excuse me.” Cryogenic gave a wave before forming a sheet of ice beneath himself and using it to slide along the ground like a snowboard as he disappeared down the street.

“I’ll get him one of these days.” The Diamond laughed, looking around at the group.

“Sure you will. Night all.” Stormwatch floated up into the sky, flying off.

Viper shifted his form into a horse, Pawsitivity climbing up onto his back. “Good night everyone!” He called before Viper took off and turned a corner, out of sight.

“Night, babes.” The Sandman gave them a peace sign before allowing his sand to over take his feet, then controlling it to speed himself off as well.

Nightmare simply gave The Diamond a nod before disappearing in a cloud of smoke, shocking the blonde hero at the suddenness. He muttered to himself once he was alone, pulling out his phone to call for a ride as he began to walk down the block. “… _He gets me everytime with that. Jeez. …Stupid no travel powers.. have to call a car…”_

Cryogenic was still riding his iceboard, angling it up into the air and flying along, making sure no one was around before flying directly through his open bedroom window. Landing easily on his feet, he removed his mask and large coat, putting them away into his closet and changing into his pajamas.

He glanced in the mirror, Cryogenic was no more. He was simply Logan Ellsworth, college professor. Speaking of which, he had tests to grade. Logan looked over to his desk, seeing the stack of work he needed to do… And deciding that he would get on that tomorrow. It was time to sleep. Climbing into his bed, he was out within minutes.

The next morning was as normal as any other, Logan having to go about his day as though the events of last night hadn’t occurred at all. Sure, the news had reports and eye witness accounts of that ‘mysterious group of vigilante mutants’ who fought off crime, but no one would ever suspect serious, stern Professor Ellsworth. So he simply poured himself a travel mug of cold brew coffee and went off to work.

Virgil Blair blearily wandered his way into his first class of the day, why he chose to take a morning time slot for something as important as chemistry, he’d never know. But oh well. He made his way in, humming a song he’d heard on the bus that morning. He looked down to the front of the class to see Professor Ellsworth writing on the board, so he pulled out his notebook to begin copying it down. The class was clamoring about the grades they’d gotten on their most recent exam, but as the professor began the lecture, he silenced that immediately.

“Good morning, class. I did not get an opportunity to finish grading the exams over the weekend, so you will be receiving them by the end of the week. Now, open your books…”

Huh. Oh well.

Virgil made it through the class, glad when it was dismissed and he had a bit of time to kill before his appointment. He decided to head to the coffee shop just off campus, ordering his drink and a pastry from the manager of the shop before settling at a table in the corner. He had never seen him without his aviator sunglasses on, but hey, he was the manager. He could do what he wanted.

Remy was leaning back against the counter, arms crossed. He had finished up that emo kid’s order, he was something of a regular at the shop. He seemed pretty shy, but that wasn’t really his business. Remy looked up at the sound of the door, seeing one of his employee’s walking in with his signature smile on his face. He let his eyes trail over him from behind his sunglasses as he walked toward him, noting his signature beanie carefully bobby pinned atop his head like always.

“Hey, Pat.” Remy greeted, the younger man stepping behind the counter.

“Hi Remy!” Patton smiled from ear to ear, tying on his apron.

“I wanted to ask you a favor, we have a call out, do you think you can stay late tonight?” The manager asked, still casually leaning back against the counter.

“Oh! Um, that should be fine.. Just give me a second to text my brother and let him know I’ll be home late.” Patton nodded, reaching into his pocket to grab his phone, type up a text, and send it off.

_BUZZ BUZZ_

“…What was that noise, dude?” Came the voice from his headset.

Declan looked down at his cell phone, picking it up to read the text from his twin. “Oh, just a text from my brother. He’s gonna be working late, I guess.” He shrugged and sent him a quick text back before going back to his online game.

“Oh, alright. Hey, have you heard from Kreeve or Blue since we did that raid?” His friend asked.

“Nah, I think they were gonna see if they could get Batsy to join us for the next one.” Declan responded, looking back at the screen.

The voice on the other end laughed slightly. “…I still think Batsy has a weird screen name.”

“Oh yeah, Princey? Because CrownPrinceStero is any better?” He laughed, hearing his friend huff in response.

“Dude, your’s is Dece1tful0ne. And you’re gonna give me shit, Dee?” Princey groaned.

“Yes. Yes I am.”

“Oh shut up and let’s play.”

Patton received the text back from Declan and turned back to Remy. “Alrighty! I’m good to stay!” He smiled.

“Sweet. Thanks, Pat.” Remy nodded before turning to head into the back of the shop, leaving manning the front to Patton.

Virgil stayed in the back corner for a good while, happy to drink his coffee and play with his phone. He had begun packing up his things after nearly an hour, realizing that that same song he had heard on the bus that morning was now playing in the shop. He noticed the barista was happily clearing the counter to the beat of the pop song, unable to stop himself from humming along as well.

Patton gave him a cheery goodbye as he left, Virgil walking off toward the student health building. He had grabbed an extra cookie to give to his therapist, the two of them having become rather close and he knew that Emile had a sweet tooth. He was really appreciative of the kind man, he swore that he just had some kind of sixth sense for what his worries were… Just always able to get right to the bottom of what he was most concerned about. It was easily the best experience he’d ever had with a therapist.

Virgil strolled into the office, signing in and waiting for Dr. Picani to come out and retrieve him. Just as his therapist came out to the lobby, in his pastel pink tie and warm cardigan, that same song started up yet again. Virgil hummed along as he walked behind him to his office, sitting down in the large comfortable chair and handing over the bag with the cookie in it.

“Aw! Virge! This was so sweet of you, thanks a million!” Emile answered in his cheery tone.

“No problem, I…” Virgil trailed off. “Dude, do you know what this song is? I swear I’ve been hearing it all day long.”

Emile was pulling the cookie out of the bag and paused to listen for a moment. “Oh, this song! All the radio stations are playing it a lot right now, it’s a newer one. Supposed to be the hit of the season, I think. It’s definitely catchy.” He shrugged.

“That makes sense… Do you know who sings it? I need to look it up later so I can get it out of my head.” Virgil laughed, settling comfortably back in the plush armchair.

“Oh, I’m pretty sure it’s that big pop star, Roman Sterling.”

 


	2. Virgil Blair

As intertwined as the seven’s lives unknowingly were, they lived very differently from one another in their day to day. So the few days that passed since their last meeting were all exceptionally different for each of them. 

Virgil had at least mostly thought he had things under control. Part of that was realizing that there were several things he had zero control over and making some kind of peace with that… Easier said than done, but his sessions with Dr. Picani were certainly helping. There were several things he had had to kind of work through without the therapist’s help, however. 

He couldn’t exactly tell the doctor he was a mutant. That was an extremely dangerous thing to do, and he couldn’t expect that a doctor/patient confidentiality agreement would really cover something like that. So it was on his own that he had been trying to work through why Virgil Blair was a shy, anxious mess and Stormwatch was someone who would put himself at serious risk for other’s and had no problem bantering freely with his teammates. Why did putting a mask and a hood on suddenly up his confidence? …What he wouldn’t give to ask that at his next session. Or, honestly, just have Paws around in his everyday life to help him calm down a bit.

But there wasn’t anything he could do about that. All he really could do for now was.. His best, he guessed? So he threw on a hoodie and vaguely ran his fingers through his floofy purple hair before slinging his bag over his shoulder and leaving his dorm to head to school. The only class he had today was his most advanced art class. He had to take all kinds of art classes, seeing as he was an art major, but he decided to leave the highest level one he was currently in on a day by itself. Which today, would really come in handy. 

He walked in and settled in the back of his Art and Social Change course, watching as his fellow students walked in and did the same. He had enough time to pull out his notebook, sketchbook, and a few pencils before his professor walked in and began to write on the board. The words she wrote there were enough to stop Virgil’s blood cold. 

“ _Mutants in the Modern Age_.”  

Oh no. 

“Alright, class! Settle down, we have a bit to discuss this morning.” The professor began, settling atop one of the empty desks at the front of the room to look back at all of them. “Now, I know you all have heard of mutants. They are a big topic right now in society and the media… And there are a lot of varying opinions about them. But at the end of the day, mutants are people. People who simply are a bit different due to something out of their own control. I know there’s a lot of controversy surrounding that… But it’s important to remember that it’s very likely you have met mutants in your day to day life and have had no idea. In fact, there could even be mutants in this room and no one would ever know it.” 

Virgil was sweating, static electricity running through his hair and making it stand slightly on end. He did not need this stress right now. Not at all. He tried to casually calm down, not draw attention to himself. He slowly reached up to run his hand through his hair again, trying to tame it down before the static became noticeable. Luckily, no one was looking at him, everyone was still looking forward at the professor as she continued to speak. 

“So, as we begin this unit in talking more about mutants, mutant rights, and their place in our society, we should try and connect ourselves a bit more. I think it would be an interesting exercise if each of you thought about the kind of abilities you believe you would have if you were a mutant, and design a persona around it. You’ll then each present your ‘alter-egos’, let’s say, to the class next week.” She concluded, a slight murmur running through the room as the students began to discuss the assignment. 

Virgil was in shock, in more ways than one. How was he supposed to do this.. He’d already had to once, if you thought about it. And now he had to come up with something new without giving himself away. Crap. 

They all had the rest of the class period to think on their project, all the students talking amongst themselves as they began to work on designing their mutant alter ego. Virgil sat back mostly by himself, so he quietly began to try and sketch, simply putting his pencil to the paper and letting it go where it wanted. His hand was shaking, but he just continued on the best that he could. 

His first idea was to try and do something absolutely nothing like him and his powers. His costume had a hood, a cape, boots, long pants… Ok, so none of that. It was all black with some dark purple mixed in… Ok, make it white. He had somewhat finished the first sketch, deciding to reach into his bag for his water bottle to see if maybe getting something to drink would calm his nerves. Once he glanced back at the page again, he internally let out a long pained groan. 

The sketch had exposed arms, shorts that only came down to mid thigh. A simple mask over the eyes and short boots. If he made it white… And much more muscular, it was literally The Diamond. He’d just drawn one of his teammates.

Virgil pulled the page out of the book, crumbling it up and starting again. Ok, so.. Opposite wasn’t going to work. Ok… What if.. Ok, even more of his aesthetic than his costume already. He’d only managed the completely black costume, billowing cape, and face mask when he realized… Ok, this one was definitely Nightmare. Damn it. Another page crumbled up on the table. 

Thankfully they were dismissed a short while later, not that that hadn’t been plenty of time for Virgil to scrap a good few more sketches. He gathered up his wads of paper to throw out on his way out, deciding to stop by the campus store to grab a snack before heading back to his dorm to keep stressing about this assignment.

After wandering around the small shop for a few minutes, he ended up with a handful of candy and a couple sodas to get him through the long night he was about to have. He sat them all down on the counter so the cashier could start ringing him up, then placed his bag up next to them so he could toss his little haul in there to carry back. It was as he handed his debit card over to the cashier to pay for his snacks, their hands brushing as the card exchanged hands, that the cashier let out a sharp breath of surprise. Virgil’s eyes widened as he looked up at him, the cashier now holding his payment. 

“Oh! ..uh, sorry. You shocked me.” The cashier laughed, quickly running his card. 

Virgil blushed slightly. “Oh, uh.. my bad.” He mumbled.

“No problem, it happens.” He shrugged and held the card out, Virgil very carefully not letting their hands touch again. Once he had slung his bag back over his shoulder, he gave a small nod and fled as nonchalantly as possible. 

He hated when that happened, it was only when he was stressed… And he was definitely stressed. Ugh.. At least he had until next week to get this done… Maybe he should try and do something else for the rest of the day to help himself calm down. That sounds like something Picani would want him to do right? Take care of himself and get his mind off the more stressful things? …He walked into his dorm, throwing himself on his bed and pulling out his phone to send a text. 

“…Hey, Picani? Do you have any openings this week?” 


	3. Logan Ellsworth

Professor Ellsworth leaned back in his seat, taking a moment to get a breather in between the slog of grading all these tests from his class. With his chair reclined all the way back and his gaze trained on the ceiling, he let out a long frosty breath, watching the white dissipate into the air above him. It was moments like this that he began to evaluate the events of his life that had led him to this point. Moments like being right in the thick of the back pain that came from hunching over a table and grading for hours. And hoping that he wouldn’t still be having that back pain if his phone went off to tell him his team needed him. 

While he knew he had the same answer each time, he found that he always asked himself, ‘Logan, how did you get yourself here? Why do you risk the career and the life you’ve made for yourself with all of this super powered frivolity?’ But all he needed to do was think about it for a moment and he had his answer. 

It had been in 5th grade, when he was only 10 years old. Logan had always been a bored child, teachers and other adults often telling him he was ‘too smart for his own good.’ Which led him to being completely unchallenged and unengaged in school. But in 5th grade, that changed. His new teacher, Mr. Weaver, seemed to pick up right away on the problems that Logan was dealing with. It was during the first week of class that he had approached Logan about recommending him higher level reading material and some work books, so that he could actually spend his time learning something. 

From that moment on, Logan loved to learn. He loved school, the library, and his class. It was also the year that he decided he was going to be a teacher one day. He wanted to be the one to help someone else discover learning like he had. Mr. Weaver was always proud of him, always encouraged him, always supported him. 

Things were good. …Until a field trip to a nearby museum. Logan had been so excited to go, it was a history museum and he wanted to learn about everything he could. There were going to be so many interesting things there for him to see and find out about. He couldn’t wait. 

The friday of the trip, however, in the midst of Mr. Weaver walking the class around and explaining things to them, everything began to shake. The walls, the floor, and the exhibits were shaking as the ground quaked beneath them. Their teacher quickly tried to organize them, trying to remind them what they’d practiced in their earthquake drills back at school, but it was no use. A group of scared 10 year olds that didn’t have their desks to protect them like they’d practiced just couldn’t seem to be calm enough to listen. 

So when the heavy hanging light fixture made a slight sound, only Mr. Weaver seemed to hear it. His gaze snapped up and he quickly moved to the middle of his group of students, putting his arms up. Before anyone else could react, it began to fall. It crashed and shattered into pieces… On top of the force field that was suddenly surrounding the teacher and his class. The students slowly looked up and around, trying to understand what was protecting them. When the quake subsided a short few moments later, Mr. Weaver didn’t drop his protective barrier, ensuring that the kids stayed safe. Once he felt the coast was clear, he finally dropped it, looking around to make sure everyone was ok. 

Logan had felt so thankful that their teacher protected them, so relieved everyone was safe. Which was why when he came back to school on Monday only to find out that his favorite teacher, the one who saved them, was gone, he was livid. Their new teacher, a militant older man who Logan immediately took a disliking to, explained that he would be their teacher for the remainder of the year. 

“Where is Mr. Weaver?” Logan immediately asked, causing the new teacher to turn his way. 

“He’s gone. And he’ll never teach again. Good riddance, I say. You can’t trust freaks like him.” 

This was when Logan discovered he had a temper. He’d never felt anger like that in his life. Mr. Weaver had saved them. He’d risked his job and lost it, just to make sure they were alright. He was the only person who’d taken the time to help him learn, something that stopped being supported by his teachers as soon as he’d left. Logan didn’t even bother going to the new teacher about his side studies, he wanted as little to do with the awful awful man who’d replaced his favorite person as possible.

He’d complained to the front office, he’d complained to the principal, he’d complained to his parents. None of it got him anywhere. He had legitimate reasons and logical points, but no one cared. There were two facts that he learned to be true. The first was that Logan was a child, and no one wanted to listen to a ten year old no matter how much sense he made. And the second was that no one cared about the plight of mutants. Mutants who just wanted to live their lives and do the right thing. 

So when Logan discovered his own mutant powers a few years later as he became a teenager, he hid them. Even from his parents. Absolutely no one knew that little Logan Ellsworth, the mouthy brainiac with bright blue eyes that stood out like sapphires against his dark skin, was a mutant. 

It went on like this for years, Logan cursing a society that had cost not only him, but several classes full of students a wonderful teacher. But he couldn’t help but turn some of his anger to Mr. Weaver himself. He was angry because he was confused. Why would he do that? Why would he ruin his life for a few rowdy kids? It was ridiculous. 

He never expected to get an answer, the years passing by and Logan getting into college. It had been nearly a decade since that field trip, and Logan was really no closer to an answer that gave him any kind of catharsis. What he had found was a quiet diner near his college campus, going in and getting his school work done over a cup of coffee a few days a week at the same times. 

An unexpected class cancelation had led to him going in on a day he didn’t normally, thankfully finding his usual table empty and settling in. He had his head down, writing in his notebook, when a deep voice he hadn’t heard here before came from above where he sat. 

“Can I get you a refill on that coffee?” 

Logan looked up, prepared to answer in the affirmative, when his eyes caught on the man next to him. It had been nearly ten years since he’d seen him but, “…Mr. Weaver?” 

The man was taken aback for about half a second, but it didn’t take long at all to place those distinctive eyes behind those glasses. “…Logan Ellsworth.” The older man smiled back at him, glancing around the otherwise empty diner for a moment before refilling Logan’s coffee cup and putting the coffee pot back, then joining him at his table. 

There was a bit of stunned silence between the two of them, Logan’s mind suddenly swarming with questions. He had so many things he wanted to say to this man, but he beat him to it, asking him about his studies and what he was going to college for. He lit up when Logan explained he was going to become a teacher. Mr. Weaver, who had insisted Logan simply call him Maurice now that he wasn’t in elementary school anymore, going on to tell him that teaching was one of the most rewarding things he’d ever done in his life. 

Logan couldn’t stop himself. “Then why did you do what you did? Why did you take that risk? You lost everything.” 

Maurice looked over Logan for a moment, choosing his words carefully. “Logan… You have to understand. All I wanted to do was to help you all reach your future. To do what I could to lead you on the path to becoming adults and do anything in my power to make that journey a little easier. Your future is so much more important to me than my job. I would do it again, Logan. In a heartbeat. That’s what being a teacher meant to me.” 

Logan took a long moment, processing like mad as that information broke through some of the anger and confusion that he had built up for years. That… Made sense. His teacher had always wanted what was best for them.. Obviously he wanted to protect them. Why.. Why had that concept not occurred to him? “…I see. I… Thank you.” 

He smiled back at him, remembering the expression that Logan always made when he truly understood something new. Some things never changed. “Of course. Now… I’ll let you get back to your studies.” Maurice moved to get up, but Logan quickly stood from his seat and extended a hand to shake. 

“…I truly want to thank you. I owe a lot to you, you’ve been a role model for me. …In more ways than one.” As they shook hands, Logan’s eyes began to glow slightly, the temperature of his hand cooling down drastically and causing Maurice to look down at their hands before glancing back up catch Logan’s shining gaze. 

Realization dawned on the older man’s face and he pulled his hand away and nodded. “That is all I ever hoped I could do. …And I know when you find yourself in a difficult situation, you’ll make the right decision.” 

It was only a few months later that Cryogenic first appeared on the scene, doing whatever he could to help those who needed it. It was a risk… But it was more important than anything else.

Professor Ellsworth wasn’t one to dwell on the past, or to devote much time to reminiscing. But… That memory was one he called upon when he needed that little boost, when he needed reminding why he did all of this. 

He sat back up straight, getting a sip of coffee, and got back to work grading. 


	4. Roman Sterling

Roman smiled and waved as he walked off stage, after the success of his hit new song, multiple talk shows had been wanting to get an interview and an exclusive live performance. He had been more than happy to oblige, once his agent had set it up with whichever show they had deemed to be the best one to go ahead with. He’d only been on the stage for around half an hour or so talking to the host, and then just the set up time and his actual performance… But he’d been there for a couple hours by the time he was finally able to head home. 

Once he slid into the back of the limo that was taking him home, he finally had a chance to look down at his phone. …Crap. His communicator app that Viper used to contact them all had a notification. He quickly opened it up to see what had happened, worried that he’d missed something dire and his little team needed him. Luckily it turned out to be something fairly minor, apparently Stormwatch and Pawsitivity had been able to handle it on their own. But he still hated that feeling. The feeling that something awful could have happened and he wouldn’t have been there. It had happened before, them trying to reach him for his help but he had been on stage or out of town and wasn’t able to answer the call. But what could he have done anyway? It’s not like he could have just fled the stage or the interview and rush off in his town car to the scene…

He had still been in a bit of a weird mood when he arrived to his destination, getting into his private elevator and heading up to his home. Roman had thrown himself back onto his bed and was idly scrolling through his phone. his other notifications were sheer insanity on absolutely every platform, but that wasn’t out of the norm for him in the slightest. He’d been famous since before he was born, with his parents being A-List actors who’d fallen in love on the set of an Oscar winning film, the name Roman Sterling was one that not many people weren’t aware of. Of course, he’d made a name for himself in his teen years, earning his own spot high up on that same A-List with his beautiful voice. But he couldn’t deny that his name had been what got him his start. Roman was what many people referred to as “Hollywood Royalty.” 

So attention was something he was more than accustomed to. He’d honestly never not had it. Maybe that was why he loved his alter ego so much. The Diamond did whatever he wanted under cover of night… The cover of anonymity. Don’t get him wrong, he loved his life. Being famous, performing for thousands… But there were so many rules. He couldn’t risk messing it all up. He couldn’t let anyone find out about his mutation. His mom had been there when his powers started developing, so she knew about it.. But that was it. She had made him promise never to show or tell anyone. When he was younger, he always thought she was looking out for him, to ensure his future. But in his late teen years it dawned on him that it was much more about not tarnishing their family name. That had been a bit of an uncomfortable revelation… So he just tried not to think about it too much, and did as she asked, never forgetting that he needed to stay secret at all costs.

That thought process had been challenged somewhat lately. As he’d gotten older, things had gotten somewhat more progressive.. But not too much. It was still dangerous to be a mutant. People were still too afraid of them. And that whole mantra about how fear turns to anger and anger to hate… Roman was pretty sure he watched that movie. But either way, that was what Roman was really afraid of. 

As the mutant debate had evolved into more than just a political issue, it became a social one. A moral one. He’d seen some celebrities stick their necks out there, try to use their resources, their voices, and their connections to help get the cause off the ground. Thinking that maybe with high profile support they could make a difference. …And he’d seen several of them suffer for it. Artists and actors and athletes… Losing their sponsors, their gigs… Their livelihoods. Many accused of being mutants themselves. Now.. None of them had his level of fame… But didn’t that mean he also had so much more to lose? 

Roman’s entire way of life could be at stake if people were to find out, and he didn’t know how to do anything but be famous. He’d never had to learn. 

He slid lazily off his bed, dropping his phone into his pocket as he moved to the mirror and dragged his fingers through his blonde locks to at least somewhat get them back in place. Then he wandered out of his large bedroom, into the massive living room of his enormous penthouse. He had more rooms than he knew what to do with, especially living alone. …He really needed to get a cat or something. 

Roman meandered out onto his giant balcony, leaning on the railing and looking out over his panoramic view of the city. On the one hand… He felt like he might be able to make a difference, he honestly might have the level of clout necessary to help really get this going somewhere. …But he was still afraid. Was that selfish? Was he a coward? Was he.. This was getting to be too much right now. He couldn’t dwell on it for the time being, it was only making him feel bad. 

He headed back inside, changed into some comfy house clothes, and decided to treat himself to a soda and some chips. Snack in hand, he made his way into his computer room, settling down in his comfortable desk chair and getting himself situated as he loaded up Discord and his favorite online game. 

Once his headset was on, he sent a message to one of his closest friends. It was weird that someone he talked to more than anyone else had no idea who he was. One of his best friends, and they’d never even shared their actual first names. 

“ _Hey Dee, you down to play a while? Maybe we can get some people together and try that new raid.”_

_“Sure thing, Princey. Let me see who’s on.”_

Roman smiled, glad to have at least a little something to get his mind off of things. He loaded into the game and started checking in on his usual things for a few minutes until Dee got back to him. 

“ _Sooo… Good news and bad news. Good news, I got a group together so we can go try that raid. Bad news, apparently it’s pretty hard… So we have to bring Vhelkan if we want to survive.”_

Roman groaned and typed back. “ _Ughhh… Vhelk is always angry about something. I can’t deal with his ranting right now. Can we do a private voice call instead of the full group?”_

Thankfully, his friend got back to him immediately. “ _Obviously_.” 

That was how they found themselves in a voice chat, talking as they fought their way through the raid. Things were going well, until they both looked down to see a message from their group member in the party chat.

Vhelkan: “ _Did you guys see that shit on the news today? About what the mutants are trying to demand now? God, can those freaks just go away?”_

Roman and his friend both immediately sighed into the headset. 

“And there it is. Ugh, why does he have to be on the wrong side of everything?” Roman groaned. 

“I don’t know, dude. He’s just the literal worst.” Dee complained. 

Neither of them had ever announced to the other if they personally were mutants or not, but seeing as this was a topic that was pretty wide spread at the moment, they had both expressed their belief that there was no reason mutants were treated in the way they were. They were just people. It had made both of them much happier about their friend… Not that either of them were about to make any grand declarations or anything.

They were both just glad they had each other, and even if they didn’t know much of anything about who their friend literally was… They knew they were both good people. That was what mattered. Well.. Mostly good people. They were both talking a lot of shit on their teammate, trying to make light of the bigotry to make themselves feel better. Unbeknownst to the other, it was just the distraction that they both sorely needed.


	5. Declan Little

Declan had a good time playing online games with his friend Princey, even if Vhelkan seemed to always be doing his absolute best to win some award for ‘Worst Human Alive.’ But at least he had his best friend who was good and didn’t hate on mutants. He wasn’t exactly confident that Princey would feel the same way if he could see him… But he was already counting his blessings and wasn’t trying to push it any further. 

He reached up and idly scratched his face, his fingernails making soft clicking sounds as they passed over the scales that dotted his cheek. He honestly thought his scales were pretty cool, they were varying shades of yellow and were all over the left side of his body. They were unique. Same with his twin brother’s cat ears. He liked them the way they were.

That didn’t mean he risked going outside, or would ever let Patton do so without his beanie securely in place. He may have liked himself, but he didn’t trust the outside world whatsoever. He worked online, his friends were online… If it wasn’t for him and Patton doing their whole ‘vigilante superhero’ thing with their team, he didn’t think he’d have any reason to ever leave their apartment. 

Declan wasn’t even completely comfortable with the fact that Patton had that job at the coffee shop. But his brother wanted to help with the bills and the groceries and wouldn’t take no for an answer. He was half-convinced Patton had used some of his emotion powers to convince him… But oh well. His twin was going to do what he was going to do. 

Either way, he made most of the money and took care of the bills and via online payments, so if Patton contributed a little extra, he was more than happy to feel just that little bit more comfortable. 

Once he and Princey had signed off the game and hung up their call, Declan moved over to his email to make sure he hadn’t gotten anything work related while he had been playing. He did have one quick thing to take care of - But as the IT lead for company he worked for, it really only took him a few moments to find a solution. 

He’d always had a knack for computers, which was honestly for the best seeing as he spent his life indoors. But even when he was young he had been drawn to them, always wanting to learn how they worked and see what they could do. Unsurprisingly, he and his twin had had to be homeschooled, so he had been able to find a lot of his own curriculum on the internet. Their parents were both also mutants, their father with healing abilities and their mother able to transform into a enormous beast like creature when she willed it. So she had been the one to stay home and take care of them while their father worked as a nurse to support them.

It was because of their parents that Declan had no qualms with who he was. They’d been raised to know that there was nothing wrong with them, that they were exactly who they were supposed to be. It had been a love-filled lesson, something that led them to having a childhood with no real problems… Neither of them ever really thinking about how they weren’t allowed to go outside during the day unless it was in their backyard with the very high fence that went all the way around it. 

Once they’d gotten older, Declan had become more cynical. He thought of it as finally taking off the rose-colored glasses that his twin still happily wore. It was no matter though, he did what he could to protect his brother from the safety of their apartment. Their father had helped him get a job online, using his connections, and then him simply climbing the ladder based on his skills. 

The only other issue he really faced was boredom. This wouldn’t be a problem for most… They could find a hobby. But Declan Little was a cynical tech genius who had gripes with society. He’d started with a lot of coding and programming, studied radio waves and frequencies… Dabbled a bit in how to encrypt and unencrypt information, finding holes and back doors in security programs… Some may call it hacking, but that was a word with such an ugly connotation, wasn’t it? 

It was all of this that had led him into finding ways to keep tabs on crimes and upsets around the city, ensuring the two of them could always rush in and help whenever they occurred. He was sure Patton did it out of the good of his heart… His own intentions may have been slightly less for the sake of humanity and much more about getting some kind of a thrill out of life on occasion… But as long as the outcome was positive, did his intentions really matter all that much?

That was definitely a mentality that… Didn’t exactly get him in trouble, but had nearly caused several problems as time had gone on. He very specifically remembered back when he and Patton first started running into the others during their crime-fighting. It had taken a long time before they realized they were pretty much the only seven in the area who did this. What was frustrating was the fact that it didn’t seem like they all had the most reliable methods of knowing when they were needed. 

There were multiple times when one of them specifically would have been the best one to deal with a certain issue, only to have that person not show. Declan had decided that they needed some way to communicate with each other… But figuring out how to do that was tricky. He could potentially build some kind of communicator… But it would more than likely serve no purpose beyond begin a communicator. So it would be a bit suspicious if it were a second phone or another gadget… A keychain that had a speaker on it.. He didn’t want to draw attention. 

He’d somehow come up with the idea to make an app that he could essentially airdrop onto their existing phones, and to disguise the app as something else. So he’d spent some time programming it and preparing the software, being sure to quickly send each one to the others when he met up with them by chance. It had taken a few more meet ups before he’d sent it to all of them, but once he had he’d waited until he got home and sent a message from his own. 

Each of them had a notification pop up on the app on their phone that they definitely didn’t remember downloading, and also had no business having a notification. But once it was clicked on, it brought up a fake screen to show what they app said it was supposed to be, with a small notification down in the corner they could click on. Once that had happened, it opened into a chat interface. 

_Viper: Hey, I made this communicator so we can actually all show up when there’s problems._

_Stormwatch: You gave me a damn heart attack with this shit, dude._

_Cryogenic: How did you manage to get these onto our private phones? And why didn’t you just say something?_

_Viper: Computers are my thing, and it’s easier to ask forgiveness than permission._

_Diamond: You are kidding me with this._

_Stormwatch: What’s the problem, sparkles?_

_Diamond: It’s Bejeweled! My damn communicator is the game BEJEWELED._

_Stormwatch: …ok, that is hilarious. Mine is a weather app. …Fitting._

_Sandman: ….Really? A white noise machine?_

_Nightmare: Those are known to help one sleep more soundly._

_Nightmare: Also, mine is a dream journal. That’s pretty funny._

_Cryogenic: …A snow report for the nearest ski mountain._

_Pawsitivity: Mine’s a kitty noises soundboard!_

_Diamond: And what’s your’s, snake boy?_

_Viper: Oh, mine just says Communicator._

_Diamond: You are literally the worst._

Even if they were all a bit surprised at the development of having this communicator app, at least none of them seemed too mad. Patton had been on the other side of the house when Declan had sent the message, but once he’d noticed it and replied to the group, Declan could hear him bounding toward him. 

The door to his room bust open and Patton rushed in with his phone in his hand. 

“Dec! This app thing is so cool! You did such a good job! And guess what! I went into the App Store to see if there were actually any kitty noises soundboards and I found a bunch and look how cute all these are!” He said excitedly, tilting his phone to show his phone to his twin. 

Declan just smiled softly and nodded, looking at what Patton had to show him. He may have thought his brother saw the world through rose-tinted glasses… But he had promised himself he’d do whatever he could to keep him from having to remove them. 


	6. Patton Little

Patton awoke, sitting up and stretching as he turned off his alarm. A smile slowly took over his face as it tended to do, and he happily rolled out of bed to get ready for his morning shift at the coffee shop. He liked having something to do that he felt helped out him and his brother, and he’d always loved interacting with people even if that had been a bit more dangerous when he had been younger. 

After getting dressed he moved over to the bathroom, using a brush to fix his hair and being careful to go around his large feline ears. He was always sure to keep his hair long enough that it covered the sides of his head, having realized long ago that his absence of human ears would be offputtingly noticeable even with his beanie on. Once it was all in place, he grabbed one of his many thick, colorful beanies and carefully placed it on his head, ensuring his ears were pushed forward and laying as flat as possible against the top of his head. 

It was slightly uncomfortable, but he was used to it. He wouldn’t notice it once he stopped thinking about it. The main problem was that with his large ears basically folded down and shut, he could barely hear the world around him. Patton had done his best to learn to read lips, and he had even been learning sign language in his spare time. Of course this had caused a few issues in his ‘human life,’ which was anytime he was outside the apartment unless he was fighting with the team and he didn’t have to keep his ears hidden. He had earned a reputation as a bit of a daydreamer at work, his manager assuming that whenever he caught him off guard, that Patton had simply zoned out and gotten lost in his own thoughts. 

In reality, unless someone was directly in front of him, he generally just had no idea what was said. But as long as the sound at least came from the side, he could play it off by turning quickly and asking a sincere, “Oh! I’m sorry, what was that?” And moving forward from there. 

He just did his best. For good measure, he grabbed some bobby pins and secured his beanie on each side before carefully looking it over in the mirror to make sure there were no suspicious bumps. Once he was satisfied, he gave himself a nod and a smile before grabbing his phone and wallet and heading for the kitchen. He didn’t like to wake his twin when he had his early shifts, he knew that Declan had a tendency to stay up late and he really needed his sleep. But he did like to get his breakfast ready for him for when he did wake up. 

It didn’t take him too long to load up the blender with everything it would need for a delicious smoothie and then place the glass portion of it in the fridge for him to blend when he got up. He also grabbed a frying pan to cook up some eggs and veggies, and then grabbing tortillas to turn that into two simple breakfast burritos. He placed one on a plate and put it in the microwave for safe keeping, and just half wrapped the other in a paper towel. 

Patton grabbed a dry erase marker and wrote a quick note on the whiteboard they kept on the fridge, “ _Good Morning Dec! I hope you slept well and that you have a good day! The blender is in the fridge and there’s food for you in the microwave! I’ll see you when I get back and I’ll bring some lunch home! Love you! <3 Patton_,” before capping the marker and putting it back. He grabbed his burrito and took a bite as he moved to the front door, putting a hand on the doorknob and pausing. 

This was always the scary part of the day. When he steeled his nerves to go outside and face the world. He never wanted to admit he was nervous, he never wanted to show that he was more afraid then he let on. He did this because he wanted to help take care of the two of them, and he could handle it. He was strong. He could do this.

It hadn’t come up since they were children, but he was technically the older of the two twins even if it was only by a handful of minutes. But Patton distinctly remembered his mom sitting down with him one day, gently taking his hands and softly looking into his big green eyes. “Patty, you’re a big brother. That means you are going to look out for Decky, right? And do whatever you can to keep him safe? You two have to look out for each other, and sometimes he’s going to need you. Can you do that, Patty?” He had nodded confidently, promising his mother he’d always be there for his little brother. 

This was something he thought about when he had to go outside again. He was doing this for both of them. Declan handled the bills and everything online, Patton depositing his paychecks into an account his brother managed. He didn’t quite understand what it was his brother did all day… But he trusted him. And he was going to do his part too. He just didn’t want to mess up. His main concern was slipping up and exposing them somehow… He just couldn’t. He had to do this to take care of him. And he was going to do with a smile… Show him that it was possible to remain optimistic in the face of everything.

He let out another exhale as he finally turned the knob and stepped out into the hallway, turning back to lock the door with his key. Before he turned to face the day with his patented smile, he had the thought he had most mornings. …How much he wished that his mutant power to control emotions worked on himself. 


	7. Remy Sinclair

Remy was leaning over the countertop of the coffee shop, talking with a few of his regular customers. Well, ‘talking’ might have not been the word. ‘Shamelessly flirting’ would actually fit much better. He’d been chatting up a pair of friends, a guy and a girl, both seeming enamored with the confidence of the man in the leather jacket and aviator sunglasses.

The bell on the front door rang, them all glancing over to see Patton coming in for his shift. Remy stood up straight, looking over to his employee. “Oh hey, Pat. We have a couple boxes in the back but I can’t find my box cutter. Do you think you can get them open? You always seem to be able to get into things I can’t.” Remy shrugged. 

Patton looked a bit surprised, but nodded quickly and went into the back room, Remy faintly hearing the beanie-clad employ cracking his knuckles as he walked past, but didn’t pay it any attention. He glanced back to the two before him, seeing two slight pouts on two attractive faces. 

“Oh come on now, you two. Don’t let jealousy detract from those gorgeous faces… I promise there’s plenty of me for everyone.” He grinned, flashing a million dollar smile. 

By the time Patton had returned from the back, the two were walking away from the counter, a scrap of paper in Remy’s hand. Once the two of them were alone, Patton smiled, glancing down at the note. 

“Ooo.. Did you get a phone number, Remy?” Patton asked, his voice seemingly in awe. 

Remy turned to look over his slightly younger coworker, smirking slightly as he unfolded it to show him. “Two, actually.” 

“Oh wow! That’s amazing!” Patton bounced on his toes as he smiled from ear to ear. 

“Oh you know me, all in a day’s work.” Remy smirked, looking down at the note confidently. “Hmm.. I’m gonna head into the back for a bit. Can you man the front until I finish some stuff?”

“Of course! I’ll be right here!” He responded cheerily, watching as his manager spun on his heel and sauntered into the back room. 

Remy sat down at the desk in the back before reaching into his pocket and pulling out his keys, finding the one he wanted after a moment and using it to unlock the bottom drawer. From in the drawer he pulled out a box, putting it on the desk and opening it up. Inside there was a collection of scraps of paper, cardboard coffee sleeves, and napkins. All with numbers written on them. With a sigh, he dropped the note into the box and replaced the lid. 

He loved flirting, he loved the fun and the game… Being confident. If someone who knew him was asked, ‘how would you describe Remy Sinclair in one word?,’ the most common answer would probably have been confident. …Or gorgeous, he would have also accepted that one. But there was something about actually getting a phone number… Actually getting propositioned for a date or an outing that really upset him. It wasn’t any of their fault.. Not really. It was just his life. 

He placed the box back in the drawer before relocking it and securely putting his keys back in his pocket. Once that was taken care of he stood and headed into the bathroom, checking and double-checking that he locked the door behind him. Remy then found himself with his aviators, the accessory he was never seen without in any circumstance, sitting on a small decorative shelf. He had his hands braced on either side of the sink with his head hanging low, his chin nearly touching his chest.

With an exhale, he lifted his head, looking up into the mirror and looking back at his reflection. He would have loved to say the first thing he noticed were his striking cheekbones, his clear skin, his soft hair… But that just wasn’t the case. It was his eyes that drew his gaze immediately. His irises were a shining golden color, nothing anyone would have ever seen on a regular human. But that wasn’t even the biggest problem. He had no pupils. None whatsoever. Just a pure golden circle against the white of his eye. 

Remy had tried contacts, but there was nothing he could do that would give him the illusion of pupils without rendering him unable to see. So he’d defaulted to trying to see if gaining more control over his powers would work. Maybe if he could will his powers of sleep completely away.. Maybe his eyes would look normal. He’d tried and tried… He’d honestly gotten much better at controlling his powers because of it. But it had never worked. Even once he had fully been able to control whether or not looking into his eyes would put someone to sleep, his eyes had stubbornly remained exactly the same. 

And he hated it. He felt like he could never accept any of those dates, he could never go any farther with any type of relationship.. Not even with most friendships. Eventually someone would want to see him without his sunglasses… Or even potentially happen to be around when he accidentally dozed off. He just couldn’t risk it. 

So, he kept his distance. It was all he could really do. It made him feel a bit bitter, knowing the dates he could have gone on… The meaningful friendships he could have had. But what could he do? There wasn’t much of anything honestly. 

…Whatever. He slid his sunglasses back on. He’d just go make himself a coffee.


	8. Emile Picani

_THWACK_

The end of the bo staff hit the side of the heavy punching bag for what was probably the hundredth time, the man wielding it finishing his training set and breathing hard as he started to come down from the intense workout. He took a moment to catch his breath, then went and placed the wooden training staff back off to the side. After some quick stretches to help him cool down, he made his way to the locker room, took a shower, and got dressed.

He moved to the mirror, looking himself over and making sure he was ready for work. His soft ginger hair was brushed to the side and his comforting blue eyes sparkled from behind his glasses. His hands came up to adjust the knot of his pastel pink tie, it just visible above the collar of his warm beige sweater. Emile smiled, grabbing his duffel bag and making his way out to leave his gym. 

He warmly made his goodbyes to the staff, the morning crew always so sweet and kind to him. None of them ever would have expected the happy, approachable man that walked through those doors to be the same one who trained so intensely. But it was apparently a classic lesson in not judging a book by its cover. None of them had expected much from the soft pastel man the first time he ever walked into the gym, and now they all knew that that outwardly gentle counselor was definitely not one to trifle with. Not that they thought it would really be possible to get under his skin, none of them had ever known anyone as calm and cheery as Dr. Emile Picani. 

More than one of them had experienced something they referred to as his “Picani-isms.” It was like he had a sense for knowing when they needed a little pick-me-up. He always had just the right little thing to say… And it took a good while before they realized they were usually cartoon quotes. 

“Our fate lives within us, you only have to be brave enough to see it.”

“They say the best blaze burns the brightest, when the circumstances are at their worst.”

“Venture outside your comfort zone. The rewards are worth it.” 

“When life gets you down, do you wanna know what you’ve gotta do? Just keep swimming!” 

It probably was that last one that made them all realize these were quotes, but it didn’t mean they were any less appreciated. He left them all with smiles and renewed determination, them watching as he walked out the door and went off to the rest of his day. 

He arrived at the university, parking in the staff parking lot and then heading right for the staff lounge. Emile smiled and greeted everyone as he passed by them, and once he’d gotten into the lounge he opened the cabinet above the coffee maker to find the mug he kept there. He happily filled his Steven Universe mug and fixed it with tons of cream and sugar before turning around to see a colleague of his sitting at one of the tables. 

“Good morning, Logan!” Emile said cheerily, sitting down next to him. 

The chemistry professor looked up from his notes to see the counselor beside him. “Good morning, Emile.” 

“How are you doing today?” He asked sincerely, glancing down to see what the professor was working on. It was immediately apparent that he was busy beyond belief. Notes, plans, schedules… Logan was obviously having a bit of a hard time right now. 

“…I’m as well as I can be. Just a bit of work to get done.” Professor Ellsworth said simply. 

Dr. Picani made a soft sound in response, simply bringing his mug to his lips and shutting his eyes as he took a long sip. He swallowed his mouthful of the hot beverage, most people would hesitate to call it coffee after how he’d prepared it, and let out a content sigh. 

“Well, I’ll leave you to it then. Don’t want to distract you. I’ll see you around, Professor.” Emile said, smiling as he opened his eyes, no one looking at him to notice the red color draining from his irises and leaving only that bright blue behind. 

Logan nodded. “Be seeing you, Doctor.” 

Emile stood, taking his mug with him as he headed for the door. But just before he left, he turned his head and spoke over his shoulder. “Sometimes life is like a tunnel. You can’t always see the light at the end of the tunnel, but if you keep moving, you will come to a better place.” 

The professor looked up to respond, but his colleague had already left. 

Emile walked toward his office, taking time to smile and nod to anyone he made eye contact with. He made it to his office, sitting down at his desk and looking over his desk calendar to see what appointments he had for the day. Some of his clients had lovingly given him a hard time over his ‘low-tech’ approach to things, using a physical calendar, giving out handwritten appointment cards… But he just happily went through his notes and got ready for the day ahead.

He had a full day, seeing his clients and always giving his all for all of them. He had a deep desire to help people. It was his calling, he just knew it. Whether it was in his office.. Or using his mutant powers to try and protect others.

The sun was low in the sky by the time he was finally completely done for the day. With an exhale, he leaned back in his seat, reflecting. He didn’t know how long he sat there, but his phone going off brought him back out of it. Emile pulled it from his pocket and saw that the notification was from his ‘dream journal.’ 

That always gave him an immediate wave of fear. It wasn’t that he was worried about himself or that he didn’t have confidence in his team… He just feared who it was they may be facing. He didn’t want it to be…

He opened his notification, looking down to see the message.

 _Viper: Unidentified male suspect, bank robbery in progress on 4th ave_. 

Emile let out a long exhale. Ok. He could do that. That was going to be alright. Messages started to come from his teammates, each of them stating they’d be there as soon as possible. He hesitated for a moment, reaching into his desk drawer and pulling out a picture frame. His eyes traced over the two children in the picture, the two of them smiling wide and looking at the camera. Both of them with red hair and bright eyes… Him and his sister, so many years ago. His gaze moved to the frame itself. 

Along the top, he’d written “ _Remember that you can’t save everyone_.” And along the bottom, “ _But remember that you always have to try_.” 

Emile missed her. He missed her so much. He wished he could just see her. Talk to her again… With a sigh, he looked back over her one more time… Letting his eyes catch on her large dragon wings. How he wished.. He’d been able to save her too. 

He put the frame back in the drawer, picking up his phone and sending a message before standing up and leaving his office to rush off to help his team. 

_Nightmare: On my way._


	9. The Mindscape

The team assembled just outside the bank, glad that they all arrived around the same time. It was a bit of an unspoken thing that they liked to all be there before running into situations if they could help it, but they also weren’t going to wait around when they knew they needed to get working on whatever the issue at hand was. As they all were about to head inside, the suspect actually ran out, seeing the seven of them standing there waiting for him. 

“Stop right there!” The Diamond called out, seeing the thief run out and begin sizing them up. 

“Oh, this is quite the welcome wagon. Do you do this for all the new villains in town?” He sneered, looking them all over. 

“Pretty confident for some nobody who’s completely outnumbered.” Stormwatch responded, crossing his arms as he stared him down. 

That seemed to strike a nerve, the man scowling in response to that little comment. “I’m The Mindscape and it’s a name you won’t soon forget! And I’m the one who’s outnumbered? You’re about to outnumber yourselves!” He brought his hands up dramatically as his eyes began to swirl. “Now let’s see how many of you are open to persuasion.” 

Cryogenic and Nightmare side-glanced at each other, unsure what was happening. 

“Hmm.. It looks like you two are immune to my control… And you.. That dumb visor is keeping me from getting through. But no matter… How are you going to handle your friends?” He sneered, the two of them, as well as Sandman, looking around to see their four teammates slowly turning on them with vacant expressions. 

“Now! Let’s see what my new minions can do!” He called, smirking as he gestured with his arms once again. 

The three of them watched as Stormwatch soared into the sky, arms spread wide and calling down huge strikes of lightning. The Diamond had turned to them, his arms shifting to diamond from shoulder to finger tip. Pawsitivity seemed to have his attention turned on Stormwatch, the three of them realizing that he was using his powers to send the weather hero’s emotions haywire, making his powers even less stable and more volatile. That would have been their top priority, but The Diamond was immediately rushing toward them, pulling back a fist, fully prepared to throw punches. 

The Viper was being a bit confusing, he had first began by running toward them, but as soon as he had shifted into a large rhinoceros, he just completely stopped moving. Nightmare was using every ounce of his agility and all of his reflexes to dodge the blows from The Diamond, so it was Cryogenic who pieced it together. 

“…He can’t control Viper in animal form. Viper! Whatever you do, don’t switch back to your human form!” Cryogenic called. The rhino before him shifted into a cheetah, nodding to Cryogenic before running toward Pawsitivity to get him off of Stormwatch. 

Cryogenic turned back to Nightmare to see how he was faring, and it was very apparent that nothing Nightmare was doing was stopping the bewitched Diamond. Sandman was trying to distract him off of his teammate, throwing compacted balls of sand at him, but he easily deflected them with his nearly indestructible arms. 

So he took it upon himself to start shooting blasts of ice into his large teammate, finally managing to draw The Diamond’s attention. As he turned away from Nightmare to face Cryogenic, the color somewhat drained from his face as he began to charge toward him instead. He took a few steps back as he ran toward him, but as he got closer, he saw as his teammate finally fully shifted into full diamond… And stopped in his tracks. 

The Diamond seemed confused, looking down at his hands and then glancing around as if he was unsure how he got where he was.

Cryogenic suddenly understood. “…the mind control can’t get through that thick head of your’s.” He said, just loud enough for him to hear. 

“Hey!” The Diamond immediately put his hands indignantly on his hips, the contact from them meeting making a loud thunking sound. 

Cryogenic smirked. “Don’t worry, he can only control you when you’re useless. Just stay in diamond form and we should be fine.” 

The Diamond huffed loudly, scowling at his teammate as they turned to get back into the fray. It was becoming apparent that the tides were turning, with only two of their teammates still under The Mindscape’s control. Viper had turned into a very large snake and had wrapped around Pawsitivity so he couldn’t use his claws, but their main issue was still Stormwatch causing a dangerous electrical storm up high in the air. That, and it seeming like The Mindscape was quite aware that this was no longer looking good for him.

With a final wave of his arms, he yelled as he began to run off in the other direction. “You haven’t seen the last of me!” 

Nightmare quickly turned to the team, “I’m going to go after him! Take care of those two!” Before running off to follow the retreating thief. 

“….How are we supposed to get him down? He’s going to hurt himself.” The Diamond turned to his team, all of them looking between the still controlled Stormwatch and the struggling Pawsitivity. 

Cryogenic thought for a moment, watching how the young man in the sky was still shooting lightning in every direction. Then a lightbulb went off in his head as he began to form ice under the teammate next to him. 

The Diamond looked over to him, unsure why he was being raised up, but before he could ask the question, Cryogenic told him the answer. “Diamond doesn’t conduct electricity.” 

His eyes widened, but he quickly nodded and waited as his icy elevator quickly took him upward, and him jumping and diving at his teammate once he was high enough. He got a firm grip around Stormwatch’s waist and dragged them back down to the ground, making sure he landed on his feet and didn’t let his teammate take any impact. 

Now Viper and Diamond were holding their struggling teammates, both trying to get free from their grasp. 

“…Everyone look away.” Sandman suddenly spoke up, walking over to them and flipping up his visor to look into their eyes. Within moments they both went limp in sleep, falling against the two holding them.

At that point, Viper and Diamond could both go back into their normal forms, looking at each other and then at the rest of them. 

“…Well that was certainly an ordeal.” Viper spoke up, looking down at Pawsitivity in his arms.

“Yeah. …How long are they going to be out for?” The Diamond asked, looking up at Sandman. 

“Should only be a few minutes, I didn’t want to knock them out too far.” He shrugged, instinctively reaching up to make sure his visor was in place. 

A few beeps could be heard amongst the group, them realizing that it was from their communicators. With two of them asleep and the other two holding them up, only Cryogenic and Sandman were able to pull out their phones, checking to see what was happening.

_Nightmare: Mindscape apprehended and dropped off into police custody._

_Cryogenic: Won’t he be able to use mind control to break out?_

_Nightmare: Not anytime soon. He’s not in the best mental state at the moment. Hopefully they find something to do about him before he snaps out of it._

Sandman relayed the message to the others, The Diamond grimacing slightly at the implication of what Nightmare must have done. “…That dude.. Scares me.” 

“Isn’t that the point?” Viper asked, turning to him with a slight smirk. 

He just rolled his eyes. “You are still the worst.”

They waited for Stormwatch and Pawsitivity to wake up, wanting to ensure that they were free from the control and that they were doing alright. Once everyone was in the clear, they dispersed for the night. Just another day in the life of mutant vigilantes. 


	10. Hearing Problems

It had seemed like it would be a pretty normal day for Patton. 

It had been a cold morning, him bundling up in a cozy blue coat and a thick, matching beanie for his walk to the coffee shop. The wool hat definitely muffled the world around him more than his usual thinner ones, but it was a small price to pay to keep the tips of his ears from getting all freezy. No one wanted cold kitty ears. 

He was thankful for the calm, things had been going simply enough. He hadn’t seen his team or had any issues to deal with in a little over a week, things had been good at home with his brother… Things were just nice.

He made his way into the coffee shop, slipping his apron on over his sky blue coat until he warmed up. Remy snuck up on him accidentally at one point, appearing right next to him before Patton noticed he’d joined him.

“Pat?” 

Patton jumped a little, instinctively taking a step back and turning immediately to face his manager. “Oh! Remy! …Sorry, I.. I didn’t realize you were there.”

His manager chuckled slightly. “Man, you weren’t kidding when you said you don’t hear well. Didn’t mean to freak you out. Just wanted to let you know I have to take care of a few things in the back, holler if you need anything, alright?” 

“Yeah, of course. Thanks, Rem!” Patton smiled, going back to working on what he was cleaning. Remy nodded and walked into the back, leaving his employee to it. 

Patton had been doing this a long time, he knew how to handle things. Sure, the shop generally had at least two employees in the front, but he was sure nothing too crazy would happen. And Remy was right there if he needed him. 

A few customers had come through, mostly regulars from the college. He talked to them a little if they seemed up for conversation, even able to coax a few words out of the shy emo student with the bright purple hair. So things were going great. 

The shop cleared out after a while, leaving Patton to cleaning the countertops and the equipment. He was cleaning the counter facing the door when it opened harshly, actually managing to hit the wall behind it with a loud bang. 

Patton’s eyes flicked up to see who had entered, seeing an angry looking older man storming in. 

“…Hello there! How can I help you today?” Patton asked cheerily as he approached the register. 

He seemed to look Patton over before opening his mouth and speaking plainly. “Give me a medium half-caf quad, double shot, 1 pump white mocha, 1 pump peppermint, nonfat, light water, americano misto. And add chocolate curls.” 

Patton just blinked and looked at him for a moment before grabbing a cup and starting to write the order on it. “…Okay, um. I think I’ve got that. Um… Yeah.” He said, looking back up at him. “..Can I get you anything else today, sir?” 

“No. That’s all.” He added shortly. Patton just nodded and quickly rang him up before turning around to make the drink. It was really complicated, he was even somewhat sure that some of those things actually contradicted each other, but he was trying his best. 

Unbeknownst to him, the man who had ordered the drink was watching him like a hawk from the other side of the counter. Apparently Patton made an incorrect move, grabbing the wrong bottle to add to the cup, and the man was immediately narrowing his eyes in further anger. “Hey, that’s wrong.”

Patton didn’t respond, his back fully turned to him.

“Hey! Listen to me!” 

Still, he could not hear him.

“What the hell, kid?! Do you have headphones on under that stupid hat of your’s or something?!” And with that, the man leaned over the counter and grabbed the back of Patton’s beanie and tugged hard, yanking it right off along with the pins holding it in place. Immediately, Patton flung himself around to look at the man who had just taken his beanie, eyes wide and full of shock as his ears popped right up.

The man’s expression went from anger to disgust, staring him down with a firm grip on the beanie in his hand. “What the fuck? They let freaks like you around people’s food?!” He snarled.

Patton didn’t know what to do, part of him wanted to freeze, the rest of him wanted to run. The sound of footsteps coming down the stairs shocked him back into motion, the instinct to flee finally winning out. He ran. Right out the front door and down the street. 

Remy had heard the commotion and came back down from the storage room up above the shop, only reappearing in the main area of the space with enough time to see the blur of baby blue run past the window, and then Patton was gone.

He was running with everything he had, down the road, around the corner, up the hill, right to his apartment building. He didn’t know how many people saw him as he went, he didn’t know if Remy saw him when he left… He didn’t have his beanie.. He didn’t know what Declan would say… He felt like he let him down. 

He also didn’t notice that Ms. Hindley, the nosy building gossip and general hater of youth, was standing just outside her door when he ran past on his way to his and his brother’s apartment. And before Patton could round the corner of the hallway, her phone was already in her hand and she was dialing a phone number. 

Patton burst through the front door of their apartment, slamming the door behind him and leaning against it as if he needed to hold it shut. Declan was quickly in his doorway, looking at his brother, taking in how he was obviously stressed, afraid… and not wearing his hat.

“…Patton? What happened?” He asked, trying to stay soft for his sake. 

Patton’s eyes were staring back into his twin’s, almost like he thought he’d find the words if he looked hard enough. But he didn’t. He just let out a breath of a sob before he fled again, this time into his bedroom, and slammed yet another door behind him. 

Declan didn’t know what to do, but before he could even make try to a decision, his phone was ringing in his pocket. He pulled it out and looked down to see who it was, his face paling as he read the word there. 

Landlord. 


	11. Re-Introductions

The team’s communicators all lit up later that night, Viper calling them all to meet in an alleyway. It was a little bit suspicious, he generally told them exactly what they would be dealing with when he called upon them, but they had no reason to believe anything strange was going on. So they all arrived as quickly as they could, geared up and ready to go… Finding Viper and Pawsitivity waiting. 

“…What’s going on?” Stormwatch asked, looking at the two standing there, not at all explaining what was going on. 

It took a long moment, the two of them glancing at each other a few times before Viper spoke up. “…We.. Need to talk to you guys about something.” 

That was certainly ominous, but Sandman jumped in to try and lighten the mood. “Is it about the rampant flirting on this team? Because I also have some points to bring to that discussion.”

“I also would have something to add to that conversation, if I’m being honest.” Cryogenic piped up, looking over to The Diamond. 

The Diamond immediately put his hands up in mock surrender. “Hey hey hey! It is not my fault that you have gorgeous eyes. I don’t think it’s fair to hold that against me. …Well, if you want to hold something aga-”

“No. No. Stop. Stop before you say anything else.” Stormwatch immediately held up a hand, causing The Diamond to give a cheeky grin and Cryogenic to look off in another direction with definite heat in his cheeks. 

At least Viper and Pawsitivity didn’t look quite as grim after that little detour. But they still were obviously off about something. “Uh.. That isn’t quite it. Um.. We asked you to come here because… I had a bit of an incident at my work today. I.. I got found out and… Our landlord found out too. We’re.. Being evicted. Our parents live in another country and even if we wanted to get to them we don’t have passports… I.. We don’t have anywhere to go. I.. I know this is a long shot but.. You are the only ones we thought we might be able to turn to. …We can try and figure something out for the long term but.. For the time being we just… We don’t have anything we can do. I.. I don’t even know if I’m going to be able to keep my job.” Pawsitivity was shaking a bit, obviously having had been breaking down about this for most of the day. 

Viper reached over and patted his brother’s shoulder comfortingly before he reached up to pull off his mask and pull down his high collar to reveal his face. “…My name is Declan. This is my twin brother Patton.” 

Patton just nodded, also reaching up and pulling off his mask, showing them his face. 

“…Well, I can tell you one thing at least.” Sandman spoke up, drawing attention to himself. “You aren’t going to lose your job.” 

They all looked a bit surprised, just watching as he also lowered a high collar before going into his pocket and pulling out a pair of aviator sunglasses, switching them out for his visor. 

Patton’s eyes immediately flashed in recognition. “Remy?! It’s been you this whole time?!” 

“I guess so, Pat.” Remy laughed, looking back at him. 

“…Don’t you two.. Work at the coffee shop next to campus?” Stormwatch slowly asked, them all turning to him. He reached up with shaking hands to remove his mask, but no one realized who he was until he pulled down his hood and revealed his vibrant purple hair. 

“Oh! It’s you!” Patton smiled, looking at Virgil who gave him a tentative smile back. 

“…Virgil?” Cryogenic was next, causing Virgil to spin to him with surprise and watch as he pulled his mask off as well. 

“…Professor Ellsworth?!” Virgil never would have guessed that his serious professor was one of the one’s on their team. 

“Well, I certainly wouldn’t have imagined to run into Virgil and Logan here… I can only hope that this isn’t a conflict of interest.” Nightmare laughed, but his voice lacked that usual scary echo. They all once again turned, just in time to watch as Nightmare’s frightening appearance faded away, leaving only a nonthreatening man in a pastel tie and beige sweater. 

“Dr. Picani?” Logan and Virgil were both absolutely floored. 

“That’s me! How do you how do?” He asked, laughing softly. “Now, boys… I’m afraid that there isn’t too much I would be able to do, unfortunately. I don’t live alone. So I’m not sure how well you’d be able to stay with me.” He added, turning to Patton and Declan. 

“Oh, right. Uh.. I’m in a dorm. So.. I can’t do much either.” Virgil added, looking apologetic. 

“I live above the coffee shop, so unless the owner is going to pop in you can stay with me… But it won’t be much more than just a roof over your heads… It’s a studio apartment up there.” Remy added.

“My home would probably be the most optimal, I do have a small house with a spare bedroom. Occasionally I have family who comes through… But I will have fair warning of that occurring.” Logan offered. 

Patton and Declan were both already looking thankful beyond belief. “We’re in a pre-furnished apartment, so we don’t have that much… Maybe a few boxes worth and Declan’s computer stuff. But.. Thank you. Thank you all so so much.” Patton smiled, his eyes filling with tears. 

“Yeah.. Thank you guys. Really.” Declan smiled more subtly, but it was definitely there. “…We have until mid day tomorrow, uh.. Would anyone be able to help us move a few things?” 

Logan and Emile were first to shake their heads. “I will put my address, and the location of the emergency key, in the communicator. So you can take what you have over there while I’m work.” Logan offered.

“I’ll also have to be at work.” Remy added. 

“I have class…” Virgil also piped up. 

It was at that moment that they all realized, one member of their group had never spoken up or said anything. No introduction, no banter… Not even any flirting. Six pairs of eyes made their way to The Diamond, all of them seeing their normally talkative and confident teammate having shrunk into himself somewhat, having taken a step backwards away from the group. 

“…Diamond?” Emile asked, looking at him softly. 

His eyes were wide, looking across all of them for several moments. It was clear he was thinking, deciding… And before anyone had said anything else, he had shifted completely into his diamond form, spun around, and sprinted away into the night. 


	12. Making It Work

They hadn’t heard from The Diamond in a couple weeks, it was like he had disappeared off the face of the earth. …But time wasn’t just going to stop. They had to do what they could whether they had his support or not.

Patton and Declan had been mostly staying at Logan’s house, but they did feel bad that he was suddenly taking care of them. Declan had tried to insist that they pay him some kind of rent, but Logan didn’t want to take their money… Especially when he found out that they were barely 20 years old and dealing with all they had on their plates. 

They’d only had one instance where they had to come up with a quick escape from his house and flee to Remy’s apartment, but thankfully Declan was able to think fast while Logan was dealing with the relative who’d decided to stop by just because they were in the neighborhood.

Patton waved to Logan as he passed by him and his cousin, Declan having taken the form of a cat that was now in his arms. “Thanks for watching Dee, professor! I got all his stuff together and I’m gonna take him now!” 

“…Of course, it was no problem, Patton.” Logan nodded, watching as the two of them left his home and walked off down the street. 

Logan honestly enjoyed having them around for the most part. While Declan could get a little… Morally grey might have been the best term, he was sharp as a tack and definitely provided Logan with more than interesting conversation. He’d even helped him a bit with optimizing some of his schedules and streamlining lesson plans. 

And Patton was just a cheerful person to have around, he might not have had the immediate intellect of his twin, but it was astounding how quickly he could pick up new things. That and the fact that he just cared so much for the people around him. Logan still hadn’t gotten used to having breakfast ready for him when he got up to head to work. 

Emile had also started coming around to Logan’s more, partially to help by bringing dinner around - even though neither he nor Logan would ever admit that they weren’t able to provide as much as they’d have liked on their university salaries, but mostly because he also enjoyed the company of the group of them. It had began as him wanting to talk to them, worrying they weren’t doing the best mentally and emotionally with how much they had been working to deal with, but he found that it was really just nice to spend time with them in general. 

Remy had offered to help out as much as he could, mostly providing them a couch when they needed to get out of Logan’s house, but also giving them pastries and drinks whenever they came by the shop. Declan was even more bored now that he was in Logan’s house and didn’t have a place to set up his computer - he’d been managing his work emails from his phone and he’d had the forethought to let his online game group know he would be going on vacation for a while, so he’d started doing something he’d never done before. Going with Patton to work. 

It started out with him as a small corn snake curled up in Patton’s pocket. But he did get bolder over time, starting with slightly larger snakes… Remy wasn’t honestly surprised until he came downstairs to see a calico cat sitting across Patton’s shoulders. Declan found that he did have fun though, especially with Remy. Whenever the sunglasses clad manager started getting flirty with customers, he often found he’d have some sort of animal suddenly moving across his shoulders, often times batting him in the face with his tail to throw off his roll. 

It definitely became something of a game, the two growing strangely close even though one of them was only able to be in a human form in the back room or upstairs. 

Virgil didn’t spend as much time with them at Logan’s house, but almost all of his free time was now in the coffee shop. He and Patton had become very close friends, Patton loving to chat to him while he worked. Virgil appreciated that his friend was always able to make him feel calmer and more at peace, which he thought was him using his powers on him, but it turned out that it was really just that he was a calming presence in and of himself. 

So, in a few unexpected ways… Things had actually gotten much better since the incident with Patton’s ears. Remy explained that once he had left that day, the angry man had demanded he do something about his employee, but he never had actually said exactly what happened. He did say plenty of obscenities, which had Remy kick him out of the shop and tell him not to come back. 

The only issue was that he had called the owner of the shop, a kind older woman who basically let Remy run the place, to tell her that she had a very rude manager and a mutant working in the establishment. This did prompt her to pop in one day to ask what happened in person a few days later. The bell on the door rang and they turned, Remy a bit surprised to see her there. Patton turned to see who Remy was suddenly looking at as Declan ducked out of sight. 

“…Oh hey there, Muriel. Been a while. Popping in to make sure I didn’t burn the place down?” Remy joked, looking at the small grandma-esque woman.

She let out a soft little laugh as she shuffled toward them. “Oh no no, dear. I just got a really nasty phone call from a rather mean man I wanted to ask you about.” 

Patton definitely got more concerned at that, watching her come closer. 

“Ah, right. I’m surprised he called you, I didn’t think it was that big a deal.” Remy added, them both still watching as she made her way to the counter. 

“He said some awful things, Remington. I just wanted to come in… Oh hello there, dear. I haven’t met you before. Are you the one who had to deal with that awful man?” She asked, finding herself standing right in front of Patton. 

“Uh.. Yes, ma’am. I’m Patton. It’s nice to meet you.” He said, giving the best smile he could muster. 

“Well that just won’t do… I’m sorry, sweetie. Some people are just the worst… And he said some strange things.. Some about cat ears or something? I couldn’t understand it at all.” Muriel shook her head, pursing her lips as she thought it over.

Both Remy and Patton tried to hide their concern, but a loud “ _Mrow”_  drew all the attention. There was suddenly a very large cat that had leapt up onto his shoulders, plopping its chin down atop Patton’s beanie-clad head. Muriel looked surprised, but slowly a warm smile grew across her face. 

“Aww.. Who’s this? I bet you’re the one who confused that old mean man, aren’t you?” She laughed, reaching up to give the cat a scratch under the chin. 

“This is Dee… Something of a local legend around here.” Remy laughed, internally exhaling and thankful for Declan’s quick thinking. 

“Oh, he’s just precious! …Is he hypoallergenic? I don’t want anyone having any reactions.” Muriel suddenly asked, looking at Patton. 

“…Yes! I’m actually allergic to cats myself. But not this one.” Patton quickly smiled, also reaching up to scratch Dec’s head. 

“Good, good. …Well, I’d say that answers the questions I had. I’m just going to pop into the back and grab a few of the records, would you mind making me a tea to go, Remington?” Muriel asked, making her way behind the counter and into the back. 

“…No problem, Muriel. Coming right up.” 

Thankfully that had all worked out, and things continued to move on about as swimmingly as they could have been. …Mostly. After nearly a month of this, things were getting a little tight financially. Primarily on the two oldest of the group, Emile and Logan. They wanted more than anything to be able to help these boys out… But there was only so much they could do with what they had. 

They generally all used the communicator chat to talk to one another, it being easier if all of them could see all the messages rather than having to text one on one if there was information that needed trading. So they went to that. 

_Cryogenic: Perhaps we can meet up tomorrow evening when everyone is done with work and school? We should try and figure out a better schedule than what we have now._

_Sandman: The coffee shop is pretty central to everyone, wanna drop by here around 6?_

After an influx of agreement, the plan was set and all of them made their way to the shop, heading up into Remy’s place to sit around the table and work something out. It was moments like this that they really noticed that they were missing one of their group. A couple of them couldn’t help but wonder why he’d left them. How he might have been able to help. 

They sat there a while, it predominantly being Declan, Logan, and Emile working on figuring out what they could do to make this work. It was just a lot to make work, and the last thing that the twins wanted to do was risk anyone’s job or life… But it had been proving rather difficult to find a new apartment due to the fact that Declan couldn’t just show up and provide proof of income to help them qualify for a place. And Patton just didn’t have much to go on by himself. 

It was slow going, it getting later and them having hit a bit of a wall. All at once, their phones started lighting up and going off, a notification going to all of them. They were all there though… That meant.. They picked up their phones to see a simple message. 

_Diamond: “Turn on channel 14.”_


	13. The Interview

They were surprised, not having expected to hear from him. But seeing as they were all together… They turned to the television and flipped it on, turning to the station to see what The Diamond wanted to show them.

It was a late night talk show, and a very popular one at that. And sitting there across from the host was none other than popstar Roman Sterling. The group glanced around at each other but didn’t say anything, confusion settling in amongst them all as they decided just to watch and see what would happen. 

“So! Mr. Sterling, you said you had an announcement you’d like to make?” The host smiled, looking back at Roman. 

Roman nodded, smiling his effortless, million dollar smile. “I do. And please, just Roman.” 

“Of course, of course. So, Roman. The floor is your’s.” 

“Thank you. …I’ve decided it’s finally time I stop biting my tongue when it comes to issues going on in the world. I can’t just hide away and pretend like I’m above it all when I know that I could be making a difference.” He began, the crowd immediately murmuring about what it was that he could be about to announce. 

The host held up a hand to quiet them, looking back to Roman and nodding for him to continue. 

“…I’ve seen people lose their livelihoods and their friends… Communities turning their backs on their members… And I just can’t take it anymore. I’ve… I haven’t been there for people who needed me. And I can only hope they will forgive me for being, more than anything else, a coward.” Roman took a deep breath. “So, I have decided that I am going to dedicate my time, money, and resources to spearheading a campaign for mutant acceptance.” 

A stunned silence fell both over the audience and the group watching from the safety of Remy’s apartment. 

It was the host who broke it, looking back at him. “…That’s a dangerous platform, Roman. People have tried, but aligning themselves with… Mutants, always seems to prove disastrous. Are you sure you understand what you are getting into? What you may be risking?” 

All eyes were on him, watching to see his reaction. But he was calm, looking back at the host with a steely expression. “I am sure. I’d bet money that there are mutants watching from home, mutants who will see this online.. Mutants in this very room who are afraid. Afraid for their lives when they have done nothing wrong. Allies afraid for their friends and family members. There is no reason why they should need to feel this way. …I know I can make a difference. And I’m going to.” 

The murmuring through the audience was back, the host looking positively taken aback and trying to decide what to say next. He began shuffling through the pages on his desk, as though looking for some note that would appear that would tell him what to do. 

“….Do you think he knew?” Patton broke the silence of their room, softly asking his question to all of them. 

“…He must have, right? Somehow?” Virgil answered, glancing around for reassurance. 

 _THUNK_. 

A loud sound called everyone’s attention, all eyes turning back to Roman at once. It had become apparent that he wasn’t a fan of the attention having moved away from him, but… There didn’t seem to be a logical explanation for how he could have made that noise. Until they looked up at his hand. It was obvious from the way he held it up that he had just snapped his fingers. Fingers suddenly made of pure diamond. 

There was a single collective gasp throughout the room. Roman stood, slowly letting the diamond flood from his hand up his arm. “That’s my announcement. Now, excuse me. I have more important things to be doing.” He removed his mic and dropped it onto his chair, calmly walking across the set and off screen. 

The crowd seemed to the the first ones to react, even if it was very mixed. There was a mash of cheers and boos echoing throughout, only stopping when Emile picked up the remote and turned off the television. 

The six of them sat in silence for a few long moments, trying to process all of the information they had just received. 

Suddenly, Remy gave Logan a swat on the arm, the professor immediately turning to look at him in surprise. “What?” 

“Dude! Roman Sterling has been flirting with you for, like, ever and you always blow him off! You could be doing a lot worse!” The man in the aviators commented, gesturing dramatically. 

Logan groaned and immediately brought his hands up to cover his face in embarrassment, his cheeks hot against his palms. 

Remy always knew how to lighten a mood, them all letting out at least a chuckle if not an actual laugh. But that was when they got another notification, them all going to their phones to read it.

Diamond: There’s a car waiting for you out front.

Virgil moved to the window, looking cautiously through the blinds and immediately scoffing. “That is not a car. It’s a damn limousine.” 

“…Should we go?” Patton asked, looking around. 

“…Yeah. I think we should.” Emile nodded, and waiting for collective nods from the group before they left the apartment and made their way out into the waiting limo. An attendant got out from the front and opened the door to the back for them, gesturing them inside and then closing the door once they were in.

All of them were in varying levels of shock and concern, wondering what exactly was going to happen. They sat quietly together in the exceptionally comfortable interior of the limo, the drive taking around half an hour or so before they pulled into the parking garage of a high rise building downtown. The door was once again opened for them and they exited, walking toward a specific elevator that the attendant led them toward. Once they were at the doors, he swiped a keycard which opened the doors before bowing and heading back to the limo. 

That was all very strange to them, but none of them knew anything about this lifestyle. So.. Maybe it was actually normal enough? They had no idea. But either way, they all entered the large elevator and pressed the only available button. ‘ _Penthouse_.’

When the doors finally opened, that elevator ride taking noticeably longer than any any of them had ever experienced before, they were standing in the foyer of an enormous entry way. It was an absolutely gorgeous space, them all looking around until Declan pointed off forward. From where they were they standing, they could see through to the living room which had a sliding glass door out onto the balcony. That sliding door was open, and standing outside was Roman himself. He had his back to them, body bent forward and leaned on the railing as he looked out over the city.

No one was quite sure what to do for several seconds, but it didn’t long for them to see Roman raise and lower his shoulders in a long sigh before finally turning to face them. He walked through the doorway back into the house and looked over them all, his gaze lingering on each of them for a moment. 

“Hey. …I think I might be able to help with a few things.”  


	14. The Penthouse

Roman gestured them all into his expansive living room, them settling onto the surprisingly comfortable fancy furniture. He started by crossing his arms over his chest and letting out another long sigh. 

“…I’m sorry. I.. I got freaked and I ran. I shouldn’t have… But I wasn’t expecting the whole… Thing that happened. But, uh.. I hope I can make it up to you all now.” Roman said, looking around the room at his team. 

At first no one said anything, just glancing around at each other until Remy once again took it upon himself to break the silence. 

“…Are we just going to ignore the fact that you’re Roman freaking Sterling? And we’re all just casually sitting in the fancy ass living room of your damn penthouse? Is that.. Are we just not going to comment on that? Because… I feel like there should be comments.” 

Roman blinked, looking back at him as his mouth slowly spread into a big grin and he broke into full laughter. It took several long moments before he managed to stop, exhaling hard and wiping his eye. “Uh, I mean… Do you want to make comments? I’m open to comments.” 

“Yeah! ….what the fuck, man?” Remy put his hands on his hips. 

Roman gave him an exaggerated shrug, spreading his hands. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what to tell you, Remy.” 

“Ugh.. Fine.” Remy groaned, but quickly smirked back at him. 

“Uhh… So.. To start, I guess.” Roman looked over to Declan and Patton. “You two can stay with me. I have plenty of space.” He gestured vaguely to the penthouse. 

The twins looked at each other and then back to him. “…Are you.. Are you sure?” Patton asked, turning back to him. 

“Definitely.” Roman smiled warmly. “Your things are actually already here. I’ve have bedrooms set up for both of you.” 

“Wait, you set up our things? …What about my computer?” Declan looked back at him skeptically. 

“Uh, yeah. That too. It’s in the computer room.” Roman gestured down one of the hallways. 

His eyes narrowed. “…Where?” 

Roman smirked slightly, pointing more directly. “Second door on the left.” 

Declan was immediately on his feet, them all watching as he went to go see what had become of his precious electronics.

“…Their things were at my house.” Logan pointed out, turning back to Roman.

“Yes, well… You did put your address and the location of your hidden key in the group chat.” Roman smiled a bit sheepishly. “…I also may have had your house cleaned and your kitchen restocked after I got the boxes out.” 

Logan looked positively shocked, staring back at him. 

“…So that’s also how you knew we were at the coffee shop, so you could send the limo.” Virgil said slowly. 

“Well, yeah. I could see everything you guys were talking about… I just was busy being too nervous about telling you all who I was.” Roman said, looking a bit bashful. “But I’m going to make things right. I promise.” 

Virgil smiled back at him softly and Emile was looking exceptionally proud of him. But it was Patton who had essentially flown right across the space and somewhat tackled Roman in a hug. Thankfully he was much smaller than Roman, who was easily able to catch him to hug him back. 

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Patton was murmuring, hugging him tight. 

“…No problem, Patton. I’ve got your back. All of you.” He smiled, holding him as long as he needed until the younger one pulled away. Once he had, Roman looked across the others who were sitting there before pulling out his phone and beginning to type. “That reminds me, uh… You three. It’s… Pacific Grove University, right?”

“…Yes, that is where Emile and I work. And where Virgil attends.” Logan nodded. 

“Right. Ellsworth… Picani… and?” Roman flicked his gaze up to Virgil. 

“Uh, Blair?” Virgil answered, unable to keep his concern from his voice. 

“Blair. … b - l - a - i - r? Or a - r - e?” He looked back down, going back to typing. 

“i - r.” 

“Cool. Got it.” He nodded, sending off whatever message he had been working on and slipping his phone back into his pocket.

“…What did you just do?” Virgil asked, still looking nervous. 

“Oh. I just wanted to take care of any outstanding balances you all have with the school. Parking, food accounts, bookstore, stuff like that. Loans, tuition… You know. Whatever.” He shrugged, as if this was a normal thing for a person to casually do. 

Emile opened his mouth to respond, but he was beaten to the punch by a loud “ _YOU_!” From the hallway behind them. They turned to look, seeing Declan standing at the edge of the living room, staring at Roman. 

“…Me?” He raised an eyebrow.

Declan was apparently holding something small and metal in his hand, as he took that opportunity to throw it directly at Roman. Roman didn’t even flinch, just watching what it was get closer until it bounced off his chest with a loud CLANG.

Roman looked down and picked it up, seeing that it was a collectible metal coin from his favorite online game. “…Oh, uh. This is fr-”

“Save it. I know exactly what that is,  _Princey_!” Declan called, putting his hands on his hips. 

Roman’s eyes widened, looking back at him. “….Holy shit.  _Dee_?! Are you kidding me?!” Roman was immediately on his feet, walking over toward Declan.

The two quickly fell into a conversation, most of the words being ones that no one else in the house could comprehend. 

Virgil turned to Patton. “…Do you have any idea what just happened?” But he just shrugged.

The two looked back to the group. “We play online games together.” Declan explained. 

“Yeah, this jerk is like my best friend.” Roman laughed. 

“Oh, I’m the jerk?” 

“Duh.” 

“I swear to-”

“Wait wait wait. What game?” Virgil interrupted, smirking as the two of them side glanced at each other and then back at him. 

“…It’s not important.” Roman said quietly, blushing. 

“Oh my god, its that freaking nerd one, isn’t it? Dragon.. Craft League? Or something?” He was smirking looking back at them. 

“…Dragon Scrolls: World of Legends IV.” Declan admitted, also blushing. 

“Oh my god! I’d expect nerd shit from Dec, but you, Roman?” Remy teased. 

“ _Shuuuut uuuuuup_.” He groaned, still red in the face. “Come on, Dee. Let me show you the rest of my set up.” Declan nodded, the two of them turning down the hallway. 

They all sat with amused expressions as the two, apparently extremely close, friends walked down the hallway, chatting all the while. On the one hand, in basically no time at all, all of their monetary problems had been solved as if it was nothing. By an enormously famous celebrity who’s penthouse they were casually sitting in, of all things. But on the other hand, it somehow seemed like everything was somehow exactly as it should be. Everything was weird and crazy and exceptionally… Mutant. But it was also, somehow, a moment that seemed to promise that everything was going to work out.


	15. The Next Morning

The rest of them found themselves left in this insane living room while Roman and Declan went off to talk about their nerdy stuff, and it was Emile who brought the plan conversation back up now that their monetary problems had apparently been taken care of. Patton did have to go retrieve Roman and Declan after a while, seeing as they all really needed to be part of this conversation. Not to mention the fact that Roman especially was pretty central to what they were going to be discussing. 

The popstar and his online friend plopped back down on the couch, looking over all of them. 

“So.. What are we doing from here?” Virgil asked, looking around at everyone. 

“What do you mean?” Roman asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“Well.. We have to kind of figure this out. What we’re all doing, how we’re gonna… Make this all work.” Virgil continued, looking back at Roman. 

Roman crossed his arms, closing his eyes as he thought. But before he actually contributed anything, his head fell back and he let out a long yawn. 

“Mmmm… Can we talk about it in the morning? I’ve had a hell of a day.” He let go of his arms and stretched them, groaning contently. 

“…Where would we be doing that?” Remy asked, raising an eyebrow. It wasn’t like they could go just anywhere.

“Uh, here?” Roman responded, reaching into his back pocket and pulling out his wallet. “Here, I had these printed for you all. You can use these to get into my elevator.” He passed over a stack of keycards, each of them taking one. 

“…Really?” Logan asked, looking back at Roman, definitely surprised that he had essentially given them all a key to his very expensive house. 

“Yeah, sure. Just.. It’s late, I’m tired. Come over in the morning and we will figure it out.” Roman shrugged, standing up and stretching a bit more. He took a few steps away before turning back. “Oh, the car will be at the bottom of the elevator. They’ll take you wherever you need to go. Night all.” He gave a little wave before turning, reaching behind his neck to grab the back of his shirt and start pulling it off. 

The material only rose up a few inches, showing off a bit of the popstar’s lower back, before he disappeared through a doorway. Once the abruptness somewhat settled in, it occurred to them that Roman was probably very accustomed to just ending things whenever he wished. Probably just doing everything however he wished… His life and his version of social conventions were more than likely going to be something they’d have to get used to. 

As was becoming customary amongst them, Remy broke the quiet that had settled over the group. Lifting a hand, he gave Logan a few comforting pats on the shoulder before shaking his head softly. “…Don’t worry, Lo. You’ll get to see more another time, I’m sure.” 

Logan was immediately staring icy daggers at the barista as his cheeks flooded with heat. Declan couldn’t help but let out a laugh, covering his mouth with his hand and snickering as the four of them all started to get up, say their goodbyes to the twins, and head back to the elevator to make their way out.

It wasn’t until they had left that Declan and Patton really thought about the situation they were in. They were in this penthouse… Roman Sterling’s penthouse… And they lived here? Uh.. Maybe they should talk to Roman before he went to sleep. 

They went over to his bedroom door and knocked, Roman only taking a few moments to open it back up and look down at the twins. Declan had been a bit worried about what the popstar might sleep in… If anything at all. But thankfully he was wearing actual pajamas. They were red silk, embroidered in gold… Easily more expensive than either of them cared to think about. 

“Uh, what’s up, guys?” He asked, looking back at them. 

“Uh, we were just wondering like.. Uh.. Where the bathrooms are and.. The towels and.. Is there anywhere we shouldn’t go?” Patton asked, a bit embarrassed. 

Roman smiled, laughing softly as he moved to walk out of his room. “Oh, sorry. I guess I didn’t think about it. Come on.” He walked the twins around a bit, showing them the bathrooms, the hall closets, and the laundry room. After all that was done, he took them to the living room just outside the kitchen. “Ok, so that’s all you should need for the night.. I’ll give everyone the full tour in the morning. But you’re free to go wherever and do whatever… You’re welcome to whatever you find and if you need anything else just come to me. And I really mean that. Anything. And if I don’t have it, I can get it, okay? The food’s all in there, and the remotes for the tv are right here. Anything else… Knock or text me or whatever, alright? I’ll see you both in the morning.” Roman smiled warmly, even though the two boys in front of him looked positively flabbergasted. He simply went back into his room, leaving the twins to their own devices. 

Once his door shut, the two of them glanced at each other before Patton moved to give his brother a hug good night and they walked off to their rooms in opposite directions, with Patton’s room on the side with Roman’s and Declan’s over on the other side by the computer room.

—

“Yeah, yeah. I get it.” 

“You already said that. I understand. Don’t talk to me like I’m a child. I said I understand.” 

“No. I don’t. I don’t care, and it doesn’t matter. It already happened.” 

“Fine. That’s your choice. I already made mine and I’m standing behind it.” 

Patton had been listening to Roman on the phone for a good while that morning, laying back in his bed and just being quiet. His sensitive cat ears were able to pick up what he was saying through the wall, but even though they couldn’t pick up what the person he was talking to was saying… It wasn’t that hard to guess.

It hadn’t been long at all after Roman had apparently gotten off the phone that Patton heard him leave his room and storm across the penthouse. That was when the pounding noises started. 

_BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM._

They made a steady metronome, the sheer force of whatever was making the noise reverberating through the air. Patton had every confidence that Roman would never ever ever harm him, his brother, or any of their team… But there was still that protective older brother instinct that made him slip silently out of bed and out of his room to sneak across the penthouse and see what was happening, as Declan’s room was on the side that the noise was coming from. 

Patton found his twin’s door to still be shut, but he peaked into another open doorway to see Roman with his back to him, seeming like he had chosen to take his frustrations from the phone call out on the very heavy and very large punching bag hanging in his home gym. With a sigh of relief, as unwarranted as he felt it was, the young man made his way back to the center of the penthouse to the kitchen so he could start working on making everyone a nice big breakfast. 

Patton’s ears twitched a while later, hearing the whirring of the elevator as it ascended toward him. He was glad that the rest of their team was coming up, even if he wasn’t quite done with a breakfast big enough for all of them. Cooking in Roman’s kitchen was definitely not like anywhere he had cooked before. He had just about every appliance, all state of the art, and his pantry and refrigerator were completely stocked. He just hoped that everyone enjoyed what he had made. 

The elevator doors opened and the four of them came inside, finding Patton immediately in the kitchen. But before anyone really said anything, they paused and listened to the pounding that was still going on. 

_BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM._

Virgil’s eyes immediately went a bit wide, obviously finding the noise extremely concerning, and Patton quickly went to him to take his hands and help ground him before his anxiety heightened anymore. Once the purple-haired boy calmed and gave his friend a little nod, Patton gave him a reassuring smile and pulled away. 

“…So… What is going on?” Logan turned to Patton curiously. 

Patton made a slightly pained expression. “Well… I overheard Roman on the phone this morning… It definitely wasn’t a very happy call. And I think.. I think it might have been his mom. As far as I could tell. Then once he got off the phone…” Patton gestured over to the hallway with the open door, the four of them quietly walking over to peer inside while Patton stayed behind to keep working on breakfast.

There Roman was, sweat rolling down his bare back as he continued to take out his frustrations on the bag. They noticed that his hands were currently transformed into his diamond state, apparently he elected to do this rather than use actual boxing gloves. It made sense. What also made sense, even though none of them would have ever really thought about it, was just how far the heavy bag was moving with each blow that Roman delivered. 

He was obviously exceptionally powerful in his diamond form, but a bit of thought provided the information that his body must have also been very strong even without it. He often only transformed parts of himself and they’d never seen him get fatigued from it. And his body had to be able to, at minimum, hold itself together… Which it did with apparent ease, if the bulging muscles of his biceps were any indicator. Or the sculpted lines of his back… The glimpses of his abs when he wound up and threw a punch with the opposite arm. How his.. 

“ _AHEM_.” Remy cleared his throat, forcing Logan to snap back into reality. He hadn’t even realized that he’d been staring. 

The professor tore his eyes away from the gorgeous specimen before him to make his way back to the kitchen. He’d never been so thankful that his dark complexion hid the majority of his blush, because he could definitely feel the heat radiating from his face. 

Doing his best to completely ignore the situation that had just unfolded, Logan sat himself at the bar off the kitchen so he could talk to Patton as he continued to cook, the other three following behind and joining him. 

“…Where is Declan?” Logan asked, doing everything he could to avoid looking to the side to see Remy. 

“Oh, he’s still in bed. He’s a sleepy little snake, that one.” Patton let out a soft laugh. 

The pounding was still going on in the background. 

“How the hell is he sleeping through this?” Remy asked, arching an eyebrow high over his aviator glasses. 

Patton just laughed again. “He sleeps like a bear in hibernation. But don’t worry, he’ll wake up when breakfast is ready.” 

That comment was laughed off for the most part, the five of them just talking while Patton continued to cook. It wasn’t too long until Patton opened up the oven, sending a fresh wave of delicious breakfast smell through the penthouse. It was only a few moments before the pounding noise faltered and then stopped, causing them all to turn to the hallway to see Roman walking out into view. 

The front view of him wasn’t any more helpful to Logan than the back view, him finally getting a real opportunity to see his muscular torso, his body coated in a layer of sweat. Remy didn’t even have a comment to make to give Logan a hard time, seeing as he was equally distracted by the gorgeous man before them. Virgil and Patton both had blushed softly as he entered, immediately turning away to look back at the food, but it was Emile who (despite also having a soft blush in his cheeks) kept his cool to speak up. 

“Good morning, Roman. …Are you doing alright?” The therapist asked, his voice soft and comforting. 

Roman seemed a little thrown off, not expecting them all to be there.. Or for the least threatening human on earth to be checking in on him. “…Um.. Yeah. I’m okay. Sorry.. I didn’t realize you were all here already. I lost track of time during my… Workout.” He said, shifting his gaze away from them. 

Remy was definitely prepared to turn to Logan and tell him if he wasn’t going to go after that gorgeous Adonis, he would certainly do it himself. But that was when the door behind Roman opened up, a barely conscious Declan wandering out to stand next to him.

His blonde-tipped honey brown hair was absolutely everywhere, green eyes half open and crusty from sleep, and his pajamas askew like he’d literally just rolled out of bed and followed his nose to find breakfast. It also seemed like he had borrowed one of Roman’s shirts to sleep in, it draping off his much more narrow frame. The collar had shifted over to the left, revealing a soft pale shoulder that was artfully dotted with the same scales that were on his face and trailing down his neck. Maybe Remy didn’t want Adonis… Maybe his type was something softer.

“Good morning, Dec!” Patton called from the kitchen, snapping Logan and Remy’s attention away from the two in the hallway. Declan mumbled vaguely incoherently, just drawing a fond laugh from his twin. 

“How about you two grab showers and then we all have breakfast, alright?” Patton suggested, Roman and Declan just nodding and heading off to do so. 

They settled back into their conversation, but Remy and Logan shared a look… There were definitely some developments that would need addressing. 

—


	16. Breakfast

Virgil decided to get up and help Patton finish getting breakfast ready, them loading up plates and giving them out so they could all move to the dining table. Roman and Declan rejoined them after a short while from opposite sides of the house, both fresh and clean from their showers. Roman immediately moved to the coffee pot to get that going, offering coffee to the rest of them once it was ready. Remy, Emile, and Logan all took him up on the offer, Roman pouring mugs and bringing them over, along with milk and sugar. 

Remy looked positively offended at how much Emile added to his mug, and when he looked over to Logan he found that the professor’s eyes had gone bright blue as he held the mug in both of his hands. The steam had stopped rising from it, but he still dropped a few ice cubes in it from seemingly no where. The barista just sighed and rolled his eyes, looking down to his breakfast. 

“Thanks for making breakfast, Patton.” Roman said, a bit sheepish as he dug into his plate. 

“Of course! I love cooking!” The cheery boy responded with a nod as the others all echoed Roman’s thanks. 

They ate quietly for a few minutes, no sounds in the air beyond forks occasionally clinking on plates and sips of beverages. 

For the first time, it wasn’t some quip from Remy that initiated conversation, but instead a quiet little “Umm..” from Virgil. Everyone looked up, but the anxious college student was looking specifically at Roman. “…Last night, I looked into my school accounts and my loans and… You weren’t kidding. It’s all.. It’s all really paid for.” 

Roman looked a bit surprised, raising an eyebrow. “…Of course, I wouldn’t just say that and not follow through.” 

“…That’s such.. That’s such a huge thing though. I.. Why did you just do that?” Virgil asked, looking back at the multi-millionaire he was casually having breakfast with. 

Roman looked at him for a few moments before glancing back at his food, not looking at him as he answered. “…It wasn’t a big deal to me. I won’t even notice that money being gone, but it completely changed things for you. So it’s not like I did it with much thought. It was nothing.” 

Virgil seemed to somewhat deflate, like he was expecting something a bit more meaningful. Even Logan and a few of the others shifted uncomfortably in their seats at the words. 

“Roman… You aren’t telling the truth.” Roman’s eyes snapped up, seeing Emile looking back at him, the therapist’s eyes glowing red. While the sight was somewhat off-putting, his face was still open and accepting, encouraging even. “…This is a safe place, Roman. If you want to talk about what’s actually bothering you… We are here for you.” 

The others all looked a bit surprised, but slowly began to nod, looking to the head of the table to where the popstar sat. 

Roman was used to all eyes being on him.. But this wasn’t quite the same. He turned his gaze back down, looking at his plate and poking at his food with his fork. 

“…I heard you on the phone this morning. I.. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop. I.. I can’t help it.” Patton’s large ears twitched softly. “…Is that part of what’s bothering you?” 

Roman just sighed, softly placing his fork down and finally looking up to face them all. “…I’m used to being in control. I’ve always had that. I.. I chose to come out about my powers and what I plan to do. But.. Now it’s out of my hands. I have no idea what’s going to happen.” 

“Roman… That’s alright, you won’t always be able to control everything. Sometimes you have to give that up.” Emile said, softly looking back at him. 

“…No, you.. You don’t get it. I… I don’t know what’s going to happen to me. I don’t know if I’m going to lose everything, I don’t know what they might try and take from me or do to me. I.. I don’t know what’s going to happen. …My family isn’t standing behind me, I don’t know about my friends either. I have to see what happens. But.. I wanted to… At least while I still know I can, I want to do whatever I can to help you all. I can’t guarantee I’ll have the money to throw at problems as time goes on. So while I can.. I want to try and do everything I can to take care of all of you.” He explained, letting his eyes sweep over them. 

They all went a bit quiet at that, but it was Logan who couldn’t stop himself from asking a question. A question that brought back a flood of memories and Deja vu. “…Then why did you do what you did? Why did you take that risk? …You could lose everything.” 

Roman turned his gaze to Logan, his chocolate brown eyes pouring into Logan’s icy blues. “…You were all struggling and I was just sitting back and watching. I had the means to easily fix everything and I wasn’t doing it. …You’re all good people, Logan. All of you. You don’t deserve to be going through all this hardship. And if I could make this all a little easier.. You’re all more important than just me and some money. …As scary as it was, as scared as I still am… I’d do it again. Without hesitation.” He said, never breaking eye contact. 

Logan’s heart was pounding. He never would have expected that to be the answer. Especially because of how it hit him so close to home. “…I see. …Thank you. That is.. Exceptionally admirable.” 

Roman just returned with a small smile, nodding. “…Sure thing. I’m happy to help.” 

“…Thank you. I.. Really appreciate it.” Virgil added, smiling sincerely at Roman, obviously much happier with that answer. 

“Thank you for sharing, Roman. I know that that isn’t easy to do. But I’m very proud of you.” Emile smiled warmly back at him, his eyes fading from red back to blue. “..I understand what it’s like to be afraid. We all have fears.” Emile let out a little laugh. “I would know better than anyone. And, I’m afraid too. I’ve definitely had things that were out of my control, and sometimes trying to force control can backfire on you. My relationship with my …Sibling, suffered greatly because of me trying to get them to be how I thought they should. I tried too hard to protect them and shelter them.. And now I can’t remember the last time we’ve really spoken.”

Patton reached over to softly place a hand on Emile’s shoulder, the therapist turning to give him a thankful smile. Patton returned it before glancing to his brother specifically and then turning to the group. “…I understand what that feels like too. I was always trying so hard to do everything I could to protect him and keep him safe from everything… But he’s alright. He can do that himself. …Not that I’m planning on stopping all that much.” Patton chuckled softly, smiling over the group. 

The conversation lulled slightly, but only long enough for Remy to let out a soft groan. “Don’t you guys feel like it’s getting a little too ‘group therapy’ in here? Can we open a window and let some of these feelings out? It’s getting a little hard to breathe.” He complained, grabbing his coffee cup and getting another big sip. 

By the time he lowered the mug, he saw Emile had turned those red eyes on him. “…Remington…” He said softly, but leaving no room for escape. 

Remy groaned again, louder this time, and put his mug down hard onto the table. “Ugh. Fine. I push people away, alright? I don’t let people get close because I know they’re going to ask why I wear shades all the time and if I take them off, I’ll freak people out. There, happy?” 

“…Wait, that’s why you wear them?” Declan asked, looking over at him. It suddenly occurring to them all that while they knew Remy had sleep powers that were associated with his eyes, none of them had actually seen them and been able to remember it.

Remy glanced around a moment, seeing that realization dawning on them. “…Yeah. This is why.” He reached up and tossed his sunglasses on the table, looking around at all of them. 

Declan was especially fascinated by Remy’s eyes. Their beautiful golden color wasn’t like anything he’d seen before. …Besides the color his very own scales could take on in the light. It was strangely comforting to him. 

Remy was looking around at all of them, watching them trying to understand his eyes. He grimaced slightly, not liking feeling like they weren’t sure what to make of him. Before he had really considered what to do about it, he found he had pushed his chair back from the table and stood, walking through the living room and out onto the balcony to get away from their gazes.

Patton’s face fell, looking around and starting to stand so he could go after his manager, but his twin stopped him. 

“…Let me go. I.. I get it.” He said simply, Declan getting up and going to follow after Remy, crossing the threshold of the balcony and closing the sliding glass door behind him. 

The five of them sat in silence for a few long moments, looking at the sliding glass door even though they couldn’t see the two of them from their angle. 

“……10 bucks says they kiss.” Virgil suddenly said, a laugh in his tone. 

“ _Virgil_!” Patton playfully scolded.

“I’ll take that bet.” Roman smiled, reaching a hand toward the purple-haired boy. 

The two of them bumped fists, solidifying the bet as Patton put his hands indignantly on his hips. “ _Roman_!” 


	17. The Tour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (I made some visuals of a couple scenes and the layout of Roman's penthouse in the sims if you are curious to see -> https://not-so-innocent-bi-sander.tumblr.com/post/185610886036/bhoh-sims-visuals )

Remy made it out to the balcony, cursing himself that he hadn’t grabbed his sunglasses before he’d decided to come outside. The morning sun was right in his eyes and he, shockingly, hadn’t been outside without sunglasses on in quite a while. It was only a few moments before he heard someone join him, the door sliding shut behind them. 

The barista sighed, turning over his shoulder as he addressed them. “Look, Pat. I know that…” But that was when his eyes fell on Declan. 

“…Hey. Sorry, I, uh… I’m not who you were expecting.” Declan said, somewhat sheepishly. 

“No, you.. You don’t need to apologize. I just assumed that it would be Patton.” Remy said, his eyes taking in the young man before him. 

“He got up to come out… But I told him to let me instead. Just because… I mean, I get it. I get what it’s like to have something that you have to hide. Something that you don’t know how people will react to.. Or if they’ll change how they feel about you when they find out.” Declan said, stepping a little closer to Remy and more out of the shadow cast by the building. 

Remy’s golden eyes traced over the scales of Declan’s face, watching how the light reflected off of them. 

“…Yeah. It’s just.. It’s stupid. Feeling like you can’t… Get close to people.” Remy said, his voice uncharacteristically soft. 

“Yeah. …And I get that Pat has it too, but like…” 

Remy cracked a little smile. “But he’s Patton?” 

“Exactly.” Declan smiled in return.

“…Thanks, Dec. I, uh.. I’m just not used to anyone knowing, you know? So everyone, like, staring all of a sudden…” Remy trailed off, looking embarrassed. 

“Nah, I get it. …Before all of you guys, it was just me and Pat. So.. I definitely went through that kind of thing. And, um…” Declan’s cheeks darkened. “…For the record. I think your eyes are really cool.” 

Remy definitely blushed a bit at that, but let his confident smirk try and draw the attention away. “Thanks.” He reached forward and softly cupped Declan’s jaw on the side, running his thumb over his scaled cheek, and feeling the burn of his blush beneath his hand. “I’d say you’re pretty gorgeous yourself.” 

Declan essentially froze in place, not at all expecting that, just staring up at the taller man for a few moments as he tried to find the ability to form words again. Remy was definitely more than happy with that reaction, but decided to just laugh softly and pull his hand away after a few moments. “Come on, let’s go back inside. It’s way too bright out here, and the longer I keep you the more they’ll believe that I’m attempting to seduce you.” 

“…attempting?”

—

The five of them still inside had gone back to eating, letting the two outside have some time to themselves. When they both eventually came back in blushing, Virgil couldn’t help but turn to Roman with a smirk. 

“I’d say that counts. Pay up.” Virgil laughed, looking to the popstar. 

Roman playfully rolled his eyes, reaching into his pocket and getting his wallet before taking a bill out and sliding it to Virgil. 

Virgil’s eyes widened as he picked it up. “…Dude. What the fuck. It was supposed to be ten bucks.” 

“Yeah?”

“This is a  _one hundred dollar bill._ ” Virgil shook it at him for emphasis. 

But Roman only shrugged. “I don’t carry small bills. Just keep the change.” 

Declan and Remy were both scowling about having apparently missed something involving the two of them, and Virgil obviously wanted to interject to the money situation, but Roman had put his hands down on the table with just enough force to make a sound to draw all the attention to him as he stood up. “Alright. I did say we’d get a tour in. Let’s get to it.” 

They were really going to need to get used to this man, but for now they just glanced around with surprised faces before all getting up to follow him off to one side of his expansive penthouse. All of them just got up and followed behind him, letting him lead them to one side. 

“Okay, so… Until yesterday, I had three guest bedrooms. But now I just have the one, and it’s this one.” Roman explained, pointing through a door at the end of the hall. 

“Three  _guest_  bedrooms? How many rooms do you have here?” Virgil asked, looking into the large bedroom. 

“Uh.. It’s six bed and three bath, but I didn’t use them all as bedrooms. Well… It’s actually seven, but one was honestly sort’ve set up to be a home gym, so I don’t really count it.” He shrugged. “Anyway, so this the bathroom on this side. There’s the three bathrooms, but one is through my room, so you probably won’t use that one.” 

All of them were still in shock, but Roman didn’t seem to even notice. “So next to the bathroom is the computer room, and then here is the gym next to that. Across from the gym is Dec’s room, it’s still pretty bare, but I’ll help you guys decorate them a bit more to your style now that you’re going to be living here.” 

The group glanced through the open doorways as they walked around, seeing expansive and nicely furnished rooms. The guest room, as well as Declan’s, was pretty generic, almost looking like hotel rooms in a very pricey hotel. The bathroom was modern and dark, Virgil immediately realizing that it was larger than his bedroom in his dorm. Emile definitely looked over the well-equipped gym space and made a mental note to remember to ask Roman about working out together. Remy was much more preoccupied with the fact that the home gym definitely rivaled his studio apartment in size. 

Roman then led them away from that hallway and back into the center of the penthouse, gesturing around the large open space. “You already know all this but, uh… You know. Dining area, kitchen, living room, and the balcony is out there.” Roman gestured vaguely before leading them to the other side. “Over here is the other bathroom, and across the hall is Patton’s room. And this is the music room.” He continued to walk and gesture through all the open doors, but he didn’t mention the one closed door in that hallway. 

Virgil and Logan were immediately drawn into the music room, Virgil’s eyes looking over all the guitars and other expensive instruments that adorned the space while Logan moved over to get a closer look at the stunning white baby grand piano in the corner. Patton ducked into his own bedroom, Declan leaning in his doorway to talk to him while he was looking for whatever it was he had gone to get. 

“Hey, what about that? What’s in there?” Remy asked, pointing to the one closed door. 

“Huh?” Roman turned around to see what Remy was talking about. “Oh, that’s my bedroom.” 

“Why didn’t you take us in there?” He was obviously curious.

“I don’t know, I just didn’t.” Roman shrugged.

“I wanna see.” 

“Knock yourself out.” Roman waved him toward the door before moving to join the others in the music room.

Remy immediately moved to the door, opening it up to see what was easily the largest room in the house. He was floored by the huge open space that stood beyond the simple door. Shades of white, red, and gold covered the room, with the only other color being the deep red-brown of the cherrywood floorboards. To the right of the L-shaped room was obviously where Roman slept. An extravagant red canopy hung over the head of the king-sized bed, its golden tassels hanging from the lining at the edge. The mattress and pillows looked extremely comfortable and plush, making him want to dive into it all. Though Remy hesitated, not wanting to mess up the pristinely made sleeping place. Two mirror-topped side tables stood at either side of the bed, one with a single red rose sitting in a perfectly white vase. Remy almost snorted, of course the popstar would have a thing for roses. Remy entered the center of the space, spinning around to try and see it all. 

He was caught off guard when he saw his reflection in the huge mirror that hung on the wall. The mirror almost covered the entire wall, excluding the door that had swung shut behind him. Across from the bed, three huge, open closets covered the same amount of space as the mirror. Remy wandered slowly along them, staring at the many clothes as he passed by. It was crazy to think that one person could own this many outfits, but Remy could excuse it due to Roman being just  _that_  famous. He then stopped at the vanity that was directly in line with the door. It was fairly nondescript compared to the rest of the room, but that wasn’t too hard when the wallpaper itself had a gold marbling effect that made it all feel so much fancier than anything else in the massive apartment. The intricate door beside the vanity intrigued him, so Remy pushed it open to see the most extravagant bathroom he’d ever seen in his life. The black and gold accents just made Remy’s brow furrow and he decided to quit his search while he was ahead after turning and seeing yet another wall-sized mirror.

As he left the bathroom to head back into the room, and avoid a headache from the stark contrasting colors and infinite effect from the wall mirror and the one above the sink, he reconsidered the remorse he may have felt for disturbing the popstar’s sleeping place. 

Roman was still in the music room, telling them about some of his instruments and the history of them, where he got them or famous concerts they were apart of, when he realized that Remy had been gone a bit too long. He excused himself and opened the door to his bedroom, finding the barista had thrown himself onto his bed and seemed more than happy to just stay how he had landed. 

“….what the hell are you doing?” 

Remy’s voice was muffled by the plush pillows. “…comfy.” 

“Dude, get out. Come on.” 

“But  _comfyyyyy_ …” He mumbled again.

“Oh my goddd.” Roman groaned. 

“….is everything alright?” Virgil poked his head out of the music room into the hallway, concerned about what Roman was saying. 

Roman turned from the doorway to look back at Virgil, seeing worry in the college student’s eyes as well as the twins behind him, them having rejoined the group while Remy had been in Roman’s room. 

The popstar just gestured dramatically into his bedroom. “He’s laying in my bed!” 

Virgil glanced past him to see Remy, face down in the red and gold bedding, having to bring up a hand to hide snickers of amusement. 

Roman opened his mouth to make another comment when they heard Declan from inside the music room. 

“…Hey Logan, you said you can play piano, right?” 

“Yes, I did.” Came Logan’s cool voice. 

“Can you tell me which note is…” His voice trailed off as he whispered the last part of the question, the ones in the hallway not hearing. 

“Oh, sure. It is this key right here.” 

“Awesome. Hey, Patton. Hit this key and hold it down for a few seconds.” There was definitely something mischievous in the young man’s tone, but Roman and Virgil didn’t know what it was he was about to do. 

“Okay!” Came Patton’s cheery voice. 

It was only a moment that a long resounding, and very specific, note filled the air. Roman immediately recognized it as a G note, which had Virgil quickly responding with “ _Ahh_! Dec! You dick!” 

“Ha! That was for that bet, you damn emo!” Came Declan’s voice from the other room, laced with amusement. 

Roman just brought his hand up to his face, sighing fondly and rubbing his temple as he listened to his friends playfully bicker and tease. …What had he just signed himself up for?


	18. The Music Room

Roman eventually managed to get Remy out of his bed, all of them gathering in the music room. Remy was grumbling somewhat as he and Roman joined them, but his eyes widened as he looked over all of the instruments and other music paraphernalia that decorated the room. 

“Damn, Roman. What’s all this for?” He asked, going in and looking more closely at a few guitars. 

“What do you mean, what are they for? They’re instruments.” Roman raised an eyebrow, plopping down on the piano bench to look up at him. 

Remy just rolled his eyes. “Well, yeah. But why do you need so many? You’re one person. You have enough in here for a whole goddamn band.” 

“Uh… I mean… I guess the honest answer is…” He crossed his arms and tilted his head side to side a bit as he chose how to word his response. “Basically, I sort’ve can do whatever I want, right? But there’s also like… A lot of things I can’t just get up and go do. I can call a car and get into any restaurant I want, I can get a jet out of the country… No big deal. I can’t really go to the park and just hang out. I can’t just go to the movies. So… I just have to find things to do to occupy my time.” 

It was quiet for a few moments as they all soaked in that information. It hadn’t really occurred to them that being Roman Sterling had it’s own specific set of rules and difficulties. But it made sense, as much as anyone could love attention, no one wanted to be mobbed just trying to buy groceries. Declan especially understood what he meant, not being able to just go somewhere casually because of your face… It was something the scaled boy knew better than most. 

“…So what all can you play?” Virgil asked, looking to Roman. 

“Um, most of the things in here. The piano and keyboard… The guitars, acoustic, electric, and bass. The ukulele… Really, anything that isn’t classical or a wind instrument, I can probably manage at least fairly well.” Roman said, eyes trailing around the room. 

“…Logan was telling us he can play the piano, and I play the guitar a little. Mine just isn’t a very good one, and I can’t practice much in the dorm.” Virgil added. 

Roman’s fell on Logan for a moment, his expression soft and warm, making the professor’s heart flutter in a way he never planned to admit. But then he just turned back to Virgil. “I’d be happy to give you one of mine, and I can help teach you if you like.” 

Virgil seemed shocked once again at Roman’s casual nature when it came to things that Virgil would have easily considered a pretty big deal. The popstar had just finished explaining how these guitars were signed or were used in huge concerts by some of his favorite musicians… And he just offered him one like it was nothing.

“Are you.. Are you sure?” The college student asked. 

“Yeah, it’s no problem. I don’t mind helping you out. Besides, it’s more fun to play with someone than alone.” He shrugged. 

“…If you can play all these things, why don’t you ever do that in front of people?” Remy suddenly asked. 

“You mean like.. In concert? It’s just not my draw as a performer, I guess. People don’t come to my shows to see me play. They come to hear me sing. And pop music is mostly done with computers anyway. I’d have to sing and be standing behind all that mess.” Roman gestured off to one corner where there was an area set up with electronic equipment none of them really recognized. 

“So what can you play, then? What kind of music?” Remy asked, plopping down on the floor and looking up at him. 

“Whatever really. It’s just whatever I’m feeling, I guess.” he shrugged.

“So…” 

“…You want me to play something now?” 

“I mean, yeah.” 

Roman just laughed and shook his head, standing up and grabbing a guitar before sitting back on the piano bench, the rest of them settling comfortably around him. 

He strummed the strings a few times before he began to play a calm but happy melody, the warm-sounding music filling the space and perfectly lining up with the feeling already present in the room. Something easy and comfortable… Homey, in a way. 

But that was when Roman opened his mouth and began to sing. It was really that moment that suddenly, forcibly reminded them all who’s home they were sitting in… who’s performance they were watching.

His voice was warm and rich, laying over top of the music perfectly and precisely, yet somehow effortlessly all at once. It was no wonder this man was who he was.. Someone who sold out concert venues and drove fans wild whenever they saw him. Someone who people paid good money to hear sing live… And here they all were. The six of them sitting in his personal home, enjoying what was essentially a private concert. 

It didn’t take too long before the shock of it wore off, all of them just able to sit back and enjoy the music they were being treated to. It was just… Nice. Like everything was as it should be. 

Once Roman had finished his song, he looked across his little group with a soft smile, seeing they all had similar expressions. He started into another song, and after that, another. It was a few songs later that he put the guitar up and moved to the piano, them all able to watch how easily and fluidly his fingers could move across the keys. Even Logan was slightly in awe, Roman had a flair to just about everything he did, it was just in his nature. But even though Logan knew he could play those same notes and play the same song, there was just something about how Roman played that made it seem like his fingers were dancing across the keys rather than simply striking them.

Things were all well and good, the seven of them enjoying their time in the music room. But it was still only the late morning when Patton’s large cat ears suddenly twitched and his head snapped to the door. Only a few of them noticed, but none of them had time to ask what was wrong before a very angry woman’s voice rang through the house. 

“ _Roman Alexander Sterling! Get over here this instant!_ ” 

They all froze, quickly looking to Roman. No one had any clue what was happening, but based on the fact that the popstar immediately seemed tired rather than surprised, all of the soft happiness leaving him… It was clear that he wasn’t at all in the dark like they all were. He stood from the piano bench and looked over them all for a moment, them all able to see the pure exhaustion in his eyes. 

“…Stay in here, okay?” He said very softly, before turning and walking out of the room.


	19. Vivienne

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> tw: arguing/yelling, threat

They all watched with concern as Roman calmly left the room and disappeared around the corner. They had no idea who could have just popped in on Roman like that, especially someone who the popstar obviously wasn’t excited to see. Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately - they weren’t sure, they could hear them pretty clearly from where they were and the question was answered fairly quickly. 

“What are you doing here, Vivienne?” Roman asked, his tone oddly devoid of feeling. 

The woman’s voice was just the opposite, clearly livid. “Since when did you start calling your mother by her first name? Have some respect.” 

“Oh,  _I_  need to have respect? Because you have any at all for me? …How did you even get into my house, anyway?” He crossed his arms, standing his ground and looking down at his mother. 

“Please, you think that doorman would say no to me of all people? You think you would know by now that I always get what I want.” 

“Well one thing I definitely know, I need to have a talk with my doorman.” Roman said, clearly not amused. 

“Boy, you think you can keep  _me_  from anything? Who do you even think you are? You wouldn’t be anything if it wasn’t for me and your father. We made you who you are and gave you  _everything_ you have.” She spat, staring back at him with fire in her eyes. 

“Need I remind you that I’ve been making my own money since I was thirteen? So don’t try and act like you did much more than name me. And don’t call me ‘boy.’ Not only am I twenty seven, but you made it pretty damn clear this morning that I’m… How did you put it, mother dearest? ‘ _No son of your’s_ ’ if I had the gall to pull that little stunt?” 

The six in the music room were absolutely floored. None of them had any idea that this was the kind of person Roman’s mother, the A-list actress with the sparkling reputation, actually was. Patton and Virgil seemed especially upset, both thinking to how their own mothers were and how much they cared about them. Declan and Remy were both only growing more and more angry with every passing word, while Logan and Emile were both strangely still, just listening. 

“Don’t you take that tone with me. I told you years ago to keep this damn mutant nonsense to yourself, and now look what you’ve done. How dare you do this to us?!” Vivienne stamped her foot, seeming like she was only a few moments from throwing a tantrum like an entitled toddler. 

“I did this to  _you_? It has  _nothing_  to do with you. And after this morning I assumed, or maybe just hoped, I wouldn’t be hearing from you again. Now you’re here, and for what?” Roman’s tone was finally getting more heated, obviously getting angrier as this went on. 

“Nothing to do with me? Everything you do has something to do with me! I made who you are and you go behind my back and put this filth on our family name! Is that any way to thank me for all I’ve done for you?! I should knock that look right off your face!” She was obviously fuming, taking a step closer to her son, despite that fact he was much larger than she was. 

But that was when the six heard something strange, Roman’s voice taking on that tinny, metallic tone that it only did when he let his diamond form take over his face. And even though they couldn’t see him, they knew that was exactly what he’d done. “ _Try me_.” 

Vivienne just huffed, leaning back and crossing her arms. “Don’t you do that  _nasty_  thing where I have to look at it.” 

Roman’s remained unchanged. “Then get out of my house. And if you threaten me or come anywhere near me again, my surveillance camera footage is being sent right to the tabloids.” 

For the first time since she arrived, Vivienne actually looked nervous. She glanced around trying to find the camera before giving up and just looking back to her son with narrowed eyes. “…You wouldn’t dare.” 

“If you knew a thing about me… If you’d ever taken the time to give a single shit about your only goddamn son, you’d know,” Roman finally dropped his diamond form, leaning in closer for emphasis. “I don’t say things I don’t mean.  _Now. Get. Out. Of. My. House_.”

It went silent, the six of them not knowing what was happening until they heard the elevator doors open and then close once more. Everything was quiet, no one moving until Patton just couldn’t take it anymore. The young man had leapt to his feet and bolted out of the music room, Roman turning as he heard footsteps in the hallway. 

He was sprinting with all he had until he reached Roman, jumping up and wrapping his arms around his neck and shoulders, hugging him with all he had to give. The popstar was only momentarily surprised, and thankfully able to catch him. Patton’s feet were dangling just off the floor, but Roman had him securely in his arms and hugged him back tightly. 

The others all slowly stood, coming out into the hallway to see the two of them. None of them heard beside Patton, but Roman let out a shaky exhale into the younger man’s hair, it clear to Patton that the popstar had honestly really needed the hug. They stayed there for a few long moments before Roman gave Patton another soft squeeze and placed him back down on the floor with a tired looking smile and a soft, “…thank you.” 

Remy came forward out of the hallway, still looking livid. “That was bullshit, man. I can’t believe that she’d just come in here and come at you like that! I swear to god, I’d… I’d do something!” He was obviously furious, far madder than was really allowing him to come up with words. Roman was surprised, not having expected any of them to have such a strong reaction just for his sake. 

“Oh, I know what I’d do!” Declan added, coming to stand next to Remy. “Do you really have that surveillance footage? I could do  _damage_  with that.” 

Roman’s eyes widened a bit in surprise. “Uh.. Yeah. I… I have a camera that switches turns on if the elevator is sent up without one of my keys.” 

Declan looked devious. “And that recording goes where exactly?” 

“…Boys. I’m sure Roman appreciates your… Enthusiasm. But perhaps we can leave the vengeance to another day?” Emile added in, walking over to Roman and Patton, placing a hand on the popstar’s shoulder. “…If you’d like to talk about it, I’m more than willing to listen. You don’t deserve any of what she did or said. You are a good person, Roman. And her opinions have no bearing on you.” 

Roman didn’t know exactly how to respond to all of this support, simply giving a weak little “…Well, uh.. You know what they say. …Blood is thicker than water.”

“Falsehood.” 

They all turned to look at Logan, the last one left in the hallway. He walked forward, going between Remy and Declan, to stand right in front of Roman. There was a determined fire in his cool blue eyes as he stared into Roman’s. 

“That is not the true idiom, Roman. In it’s entirety, the phrase truly is ‘The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb.’ Meaning, the people you choose to stand beside and surround yourself with are the bonds that truly matter. Far more than the ones you have with those who you simply were forced to be around. If you choose to have those bonds with people that you have familial ties to, then that is your choice. But if you don’t, that is also a completely valid choice. …Your family is who you choose it to be.” Logan explained, his eyes saying even more. 

Roman looked back at Logan for a long moment before he looked around at the one’s around him once more. He finally smiled softly, letting out a soft breath, almost like a laugh. “…Thank you. All of you.” 

He didn’t know how he’d gotten lucky enough to have this group… This family. But he was more than thankful for all of them. In the back of his mind he knew that his mother was only the first of several things he was going to have deal with since he came out to the world as a mutant. …But maybe with these guys around him, things would turn out okay.


	20. Unwinding

Roman was definitely beyond thankful for his little group being by his side while he dealt with the things going on around him. Since his announcement on live television, there had been a fair share of upsides and downsides. There was definitely something freeing about not hiding anymore, feeling like he’d gotten a weight off of his chest about having kept something secret from everyone for so long. Beyond that though… He had his agent calling him constantly, his notifications on any and all social media platforms were a mess, he was getting hounded for interviews, texts were coming in nonstop from friends and colleagues… Roman was used to being popular, but this was a lot even for him. 

Over the next couple days the group of them were over at Roman’s whenever they could be, keeping him company, providing moral support… Doing whatever they could. It was clear that the popstar was just getting drained and exhausted. But by Logan and Emile’s estimation it seemed like progress was being made. With someone as big as Roman standing up and coming forward, it seemed to embolden a few others to stand beside him. Sure, there were radio stations that wouldn’t play his music anymore and plenty of angry moms out there… But other famous people were coming forward and there were young mutants looking up to them with hope. 

That was what Roman had wanted, to be able to be someone for them. The ones who really needed him. …But it was a work in progress. And for the time being, he was just tired. 

He’d come home one late afternoon from yet another appearance he had decided to make, keeping a confident smile on his face and doing what he could to be the figurehead he felt he needed to be all the while. But by the time he’d gotten home he was ready to relax and put it all behind him, throwing himself on the couch somewhat dramatically. 

Patton worried about him especially, coming over and settling on the opposite couch with Declan once he’d heard Roman come back. 

“…How’d it go, Roman?” Patton asked softly, looking over at him. 

“As well as it could have… It’s just tiring to have to keep a smile on my face while I argue that we’re… You know,  _People_.” He lamented, bringing up a hand to gesture as he spoke and then letting it fall so his forearm laid across his eyes. 

“Which is bullshit, by the way.” Declan added, crossing his arms.

“Oh I know. Trust me, I know.” Roman groaned, not moving. 

“…How about we do something to get your mind off of it? Something fun?” Patton tried, looking between the two of them. 

“…I appreciate it, Pat. But I’m kinda beat.” Roman said, shrugging his shoulders. 

“I could turn on a movie? Or some music?” Patton tried again, picking up the touchscreen remote. He’d learned that the fancy remote actually controlled most of the electronics in Roman’s house, from the built in speakers and wall sized television to the lights and locks. 

“…That sounds nice. There’s movies loaded into the television already, or you can download them from there. And there’s some playlists already set up too.” 

Patton looked down at the fancy device and decided upon music since he found the icon for that first. He clicked it and then scrolled through Roman’s playlists, a smile forming across his face as he picked and shuffled one. 

The music began to play from the speakers, the popstar chuckling to himself as soon as he registered what it was. 

“…Found the Disney playlist?” Roman asked, laughing softly. 

“Yeah! …I don’t recognize this song though.” The younger man was smiling, glad he got a laugh out of the exhausted popstar. 

“It’s from Tarzan.” He said simply before taking in a breath and began to sing along. “… _Whatever you do, I’ll do it too. Show me everything and tell me how. It all means something and yet nothing to me… I can see there’s so much to learn, it’s all so close and yet so far. I see myself as people see me… Oh, I just know there’s something bigger out there…”_

Patton happily sat back and listened as Roman did really seem like he was relaxing as he sang to the music. He hadn’t realized that his new roommate was such a Disney fan, but it was definitely becoming extremely apparent as he didn’t miss a beat. The song came to an end and Roman was actually smiling and sitting up, looking over at Patton. 

Before either of them could say anything, the next song began and Patton’s eyes lit up all over again. He popped up to his feet, looking at Roman and holding out a hand.

“Okay, can I just.. Say something crazy?” Patton began, smiling from ear to ear. 

Roman joined him, taking his hand and standing as he responded in time. “I love crazy!” 

The younger man pulled Roman in so he could grab his other hand, starting to dance through the large open space as he sang Princess Anna’s part. “ _All my life has been a series of doors in my face, and then suddenly I bump into you.”_  

Roman responded as Prince Hans, at the same time joining him and taking over as the one leading their partner dance. “ _I was thinking the same thing! ‘Cause like, I’ve been searching my whole life to find my own place…”_

Declan watched as, seemingly out of nowhere, his twin brother was suddenly dancing with a millionaire around an insane penthouse living room. It was cute, maybe, for the first song. By the second it was definitely overly, potentially sickeningly, sweet. And once they got to the fourth, he had his phone in his hand and had sent a message to the rest of the group. 

Viper: “Please get over here and save me from this.” 

It took far too long, by Declan’s assessment, for the elevator doors to open and for the remaining four of them to wander into Roman’s living room to find the nauseatingly adorable sight before them. At least this one wasn’t a love song, but the two of them were still dancing about and singing Hakuna Matata. 

None of the newcomers really knew what to make of what was happening before their eyes, just kind of coming in and settling on the couch to process it. 

Declan clearly was looking for some solidarity here, and it seemed like Logan and Remy were at least as baffled as he was. Virgil definitely looked a bit surprised, but his foot was tapping to the beat - voluntarily or not. Emile on the other hand was beaming from ear to ear, happily watching the two of them enjoying themselves. So it really wasn’t a surprise to anyone when the next song started up, from Moana, that once Roman had finished his part as the Chief and Patton was clearly Moana herself, Emile popped up to join them as Grandma Tala. 

Roman and Patton happily brought Emile into their little dance party, the three of them all smiling wide and laughing as they moved about, it clear that this was something all of them really needed with everything that was going on. It didn’t take long for Patton to grab Virgil and pull him into the mix, the shy boy blushing but not stopping his best friend from involving him.

Remy got a little devious look in his eye and turned to Logan, reaching to grab his wrist with obvious intentions. But the moment his skin touched the professor’s, he felt the temperature drop immediately and he glanced up to see glowing blue eyes staring back at him. “…Whatever you’re thinking… Do it and you’ll be sleeping in arctic temperatures for the next month.”

The barista pulled away and put his hands up in a small surrender gesture before scooting as far as he could from Logan and ended up right next to Declan.

Logan turned back to watch the four of them enjoying themselves, glad that they all finally had gotten a moment of calm joy in all the craziness. He was sitting by himself on the side of the couch, and realized after a bit he could hear something faintly. After a quick search of his seat he found that there was a cellphone wedged between the cushions and it was going off. The volume was off, but it was vibrating constantly in his hand. 

The phone was clearly Roman’s, it seeming like it had fallen out of the popstar’s pocket at some point, and it was immediately obvious that the world was still hell bent on reminding him that he had done something that no one was just going to ignore. Logan looked up again, seeing the smile on Roman’s face and knowing that he hadn’t seen that from him in a long while. …He couldn’t bear to let that end so soon, and decided to just keep the phone in his hand to muffle the sound before sitting back and continuing to watch them, a soft smile on his face.


	21. The Boys

They did eventually have to stop their little dance party, as even Patton and Roman couldn’t sing and dance forever, and they stopped to laugh a bit amongst themselves as they came down from the high of the fun they’d been having. Roman grabbed the remote to switch to some more popular music as Patton pulled out his phone to check the time. 

“Oh! It’s starting to get close to dinner time, can everyone stay? I’ll start cooking right now!” Patton asked happily, looking around to the rest of them. Obviously Roman and Declan weren’t planning on going anywhere, but once the others all nodded as well Patton was immediately giddily bouncing on his toes. “Ok! I’ll get started! If anyone wants to help, you know where I’ll be!” He smiled wide before turning on his heel and heading for the kitchen.

Declan and Remy were still pretty happily sitting together on the couch, Roman standing in the middle of the living room, and Logan sitting by himself on the other end of the couch. But Virgil and Emile just glanced at each other before shrugging and following after Patton. Roman stretched a moment before patting his pockets and frowning slightly, causing Logan to hold out the popstar’s cellphone. “Are you looking for this? I found it buried in the couch cushions.” 

Roman looked over to Logan and smiled. “Oh, yeah. Thanks, Logan.” He reached out and took the phone from his outstretched hand, opening it and looking through all he’d missed while he was playing around. Remy glanced at Roman and then back at Logan, raising an eyebrow. 

“…Yeah, Lo, I certainly hope you didn’t do anything with Ro’s phone while you had it… You know, entering any sensitive information or anything for him to find later…” The barista teased, enjoying the embarrassed look on Logan’s face before looking over to Roman. 

But Roman was just looking down, scrolling through the phone, not reacting at all to the comment. “…I need to take care of a few things. I’ll be in the computer room if you guys need me.” He spoke up after a moment, turning to head down the hallway and disappearing through the doorway. 

Logan tilted his head slightly in confusion. Roman never passed up a chance to make a flirty remark, and it seemed like he had had multiple opportunities that afternoon that he allowed to just slip by. It was odd. He hadn’t done any of his usual flirting since…. That night that Patton and Declan came to them, now that he had thought about it. He’d actually kept up his usual banter up until the masks started to come off. …That was a bit strange. What was so different now that they knew who they all were? Why did it…

The professor heard a noise that brought him out of his moment of being lost in thought, looking over and seeing that Remy and Declan had gotten a fair bit closer to each other since he’d last noticed. Despite the fact that they’d already been sitting with their legs touching when he’d last paid attention. ….Maybe he’d just go play a little piano before dinner. 

Remy and Declan hardly noticed Logan getting up and leaving the room, the two of them had been talking… Which turned to teasing… A bit of flirting… And now the shorter man was sitting in the barista’s lap, his arms looped around his neck. 

Declan’s scaled cheeks were pink, almost like he wasn’t quite sure himself how he’d gotten there, and Remy was smirking as he softly draped his arms around his waist. 

“…Problem, lovely?” Remy purred softly, leaning in to whisper so only Declan could hear. 

“N-no… No problem.” He stammered, seeming uncharacteristically shy as he looked back at the man who’s lap he was sitting in. 

“If you say so… But I can’t help but think there’s something on that gorgeous little mind of your’s, snakeboy.” Remy smirked back at him, looking over him pointedly. 

“It’s just that, uh, I wasn’t sure if you… And then now we’re.. and I’m.. but, uh.. are we… if you.. did you want..” Declan was rambling, his cheeks adorably red under the dotting of his scales. No one would have ever expected the more intense of the Little brothers to be reduced to such a stammering mess.. Except for maybe Remy, seeing as he was the direct cause of it. 

The barista just let out a breathy laugh and reached up to push his sunglasses up atop his head before he brought his hand to cup the younger man’s cheek and pull him ever-so-slightly closer. “…Mind if I step in to help you with all that, gorgeous?” 

Declan cut off his rambling to give Remy a shy nod, and before he could do much else, the man beneath had closed the gap was softly pressing their lips together. The younger was only slightly surprised, pausing for a moment before closing his eyes and leaning into it, happily letting everything else fade away. 

Logan was glad to be in the music room, playing a bit of piano and giving everyone else their time while also getting some time to himself. He wasn’t sure how long he spent just playing the soft music to himself, but he did eventually begin to smell the scent of dinner wafting all the way down the hallway where he was. Assuming that food would be ready soon enough, he got up and made his way back to the living room… Pausing at the doorway at the end of the hallway as he caught sight of the two on the couch and how they hadn’t moved at all since he’d left them. 

It was Virgil who caught sight of his professor standing at the mouth of the hallway, following his gaze to see the two of them on the couch. His face immediately screwed up into an exaggerated look of disgust. 

“ _Ewww_ … Come on, I wanna be able to keep my food down.” Virgil complained, causing Patton and Emile to also turn and see the two young men holding each other. Emile just gave Virgil a playful look while Patton’s hands came up near his cheek and clasped together. 

“Awww! You two!” He said, his voice high-pitched and excited. 

Declan and Remy broke apart to see the four of them all looking at them, Declan went back to blushing and immediately leaned in to Remy to hide his face in his neck and shoulder. Remy just reached up to knock his sunglasses back over his eyes, looking over all of them. “What? Jealous?” He smirked. 

Logan rolled his eyes and began to walk across the living room toward the hallway on the other side. “…I’m going to go retrieve Roman for dinner.” 

“I’m taking that as a yes!” Remy called after him.  

Logan didn’t react, at least outwardly, continuing down the hallway toward the computer room. He walked in and saw Roman’s back to him, the popstar sitting at the computer and working on something. Logan knocked softly on the open door, trying to get his attention. “…Roman? I believe dinner will be ready momentarily.” 

Roman turned to see Logan standing in the doorway, give him a soft smile despite his tired eyes. “Oh, alright. Thanks, Logan. I just need another minute to finish this email.” He explained simply, turning back to the computer and going back to typing. 

The professor was once again a bit confused, that certainly seemed like another opportunity that Roman normally would have taken to make some kind of flirty remark, but he hadn’t. It was the first time that Logan was really putting it into words in his mind… Did he miss it? The attention from Roman? That wasn’t like him in the slightest. He didn’t generally have any interest in this type of thing. But… Roman was different. 

He’d known him as The Diamond and learned that he was definitely someone who you could on, someone who was pretty smart when it came to decision making and strategy… And then Roman, who once he’d gotten over his status and clout, he was just… A good person. His heart was in the right place, he did what he could with his resources to help people… He was sweet. And caring.. And.. 

“Logan? Should we join the others?” 

Logan’s gaze snapped back to attention, him seeing that Roman was now standing infront of him, looking at him with slight concern. 

“…Oh. Yes. We should. Sorry, I seem to have zoned out a bit.” Logan said quickly, familiar heat rising in his cheeks as he waited to hear the popstar’s response. 

But Roman just gave him a soft smile and nodded. “No problem, let’s go then.” 

“…right. Let’s.” Logan agreed and turned around, leading Roman back to rejoin the other’s, his mind still racing. 


	22. Realizations

Throughout their, admittedly very delicious, dinner, Logan couldn’t help but be a bit distracted. He was aware of the talking going around him, the joking and comfortable conversation, Virgil and Roman teasing Remy and Declan… But he just couldn’t shake the weird feeling he was struggling to silently suss out. Even once dinner ended, they all stayed and spent a bit more time together, and he and the others headed out to go home, he still had this feeling in the back of his mind. 

It actually ended up taking Logan a few days of pondering to come to some sort of conclusion… Even if he wasn’t exactly happy with what it was he had arrived to. He had laid out all of the facts to begin with. Roman, under the cover of his hero disguise, would normally flirt with him whenever he had the opportunity. He always brushed it off or didn’t respond, but that had never stopped Roman before. The last time he’d flirted with him had been moments before Patton and Declan had come forward and shared their identities, which had lead to the rest of them doing the same. With the exception of Roman. 

Had Roman not wanted to share who he was? Had he not wanted to learn who any of them were? Was he disappointed now that he knew? Or just.. Was Logan, himself, not who he expected? 

It took a few more days for the professor to even consider going to one of his friends about it. He wasn’t going to go to his student, and the twins were just about Virgil’s age which put them in the same category. And Remy was  _obviously_  out of the question. Which left only the best and most obvious choice. 

Logan knocked on the open door to Emile’s office, the therapist turning his gaze to meet the professor’s. “Emile? Do you have a moment?”

“Oh, hello Logan! Of course, come in, come in.” He nodded, looking back at him. 

Emile hadn’t considered that anything strange might have been going on, but as Logan entered, he closed the door behind him, giving him pause. 

“Thank you.” The professor took a seat, studying his long time coworker for a few moments. “…Would it be quite alright if I was to… Pose a hypothetical situation in order to gather your opinion on it?”

The therapist was a bit surprised by that, but had plenty of experience to keep it from reaching his face. “Of course, fire away, Kiddo.” 

Normally, Logan would comment on one of Emile’s favorite nicknames, but he was far too preoccupied at the moment. “…Suppose that.. There were a couple of people who.. Perhaps had had a bit of flirtatious relationship in the recent past. …Even if it was admittedly rather one sided in the beginning. But then.. After some rather significant revelations, things seemed to cease all at once. Do you believe that… That would be an avenue that has closed?” 

Logan may have been difficult for most to read, but to Emile he might as well have been a large print book with a magnifying glass left upon its pages. The therapist took a moment to consider what he’d just been told, thinking about how to best answer his friend without giving away that he saw right through him. “…I don’t necessarily believe that. In my opinion, one can’t truly know for certain if an avenue is closed unless they investigate for themself. In the current state of.. Your hypothetical, it would seem that the person is currently operating on nothing more than an assumption. Perhaps there is more to what is going on with the first person’s life than is being considered.” Emile stated simply, looking back to Logan. 

Logan sat a moment, mulling that statement over. It took a few long seconds before he stood, nodding to his friend. “…I see. Thank you.” 

“Anytime, my friend.” Emile smiled, waving as Logan turned and left without another word. 

The professor walked briskly, with purpose, right to his car and straight into the driver’s seat. With only enough time to put on his seatbelt and drop his bag into the passenger seat, he was off and driving directly to Roman’s penthouse. Time had barely even seemed to pass before Logan had parked and was headed up the elevator.

The doors opened and Logan quickly ran into Patton, who’d come over to see who was there, undoubtedly having heard the lift rising toward the top floor.

“Oh, hello Logan!” He greeted him cheerily.

“Hello, Patton. Is Roman here? I have something I need to discuss with him.” Logan explained simply. 

“Oh. Um.. He isn’t actually. He said he had a few interview things he had to take care of.” Patton said, looking apologetic. 

“Ah, I see. Did he state when he’d be back?” 

“…Not for a few days, maybe a week. He had to fly somewhere, but he didn’t tell me exactly where.”

Well that wasn’t what he had been planning on when he decided to drive right over here. “….I see. I suppose I will have to catch up with him when he returns. Thank you, Patton.” 

“No problem, Logan! Did you want to stay and hang out anyway?” Patton smiled, looking back at him.

The professor opened his mouth to answer him in the affirmative when they both heard what was undeniably Remy’s voice from the direction of the computer room, it seeming as though Declan was showing him one of his games. “…I should actually head home and get some work done. But thank you, I appreciate the offer.” 

Patton, even though he wasn’t Emile, definitely saw right through that. “…Okie dokes! Next time, then.” 

“Yes, next time.” Logan gave him a nod before simply getting back into the elevator and heading back toward home. 

The next few days gave Logan even more time to think… Something he didn’t necessarily need, in his opinion. The only thing he had really managed to come up with in that time was embarrassment, realizing that for all intents and purposes he had an extremely common “celebrity crush.” He could only hope this specific phrasing would never occur to Remy, or he would certainly never hear the end of it.

It didn’t help that Roman’s interview ended up online, popping up on a news site that Logan frequented. Watching that turned into watching other interviews Roman had done.. Which in turn became watching videos of his performances and a few music videos here and there. …He had turned off his browsing history, but he still knew. 

Nearly a full week passed before he received a text from Patton, just as he was finishing up a rather simple dinner at home.

“ _He’s home._ ” 

The next thing Logan knew, he was standing in the penthouse foyer, able to see Roman in the same place he’d been the very first time Logan had been here. Through the sliding glass door out onto the balcony, leaning on the railing and looking out over the city against the night sky. 

The professor steeled his nerves before crossing the open space to the balcony door and sliding it open, joining Roman out in the night. He stood beside him, also leaning against the railing before drawing his attention. 

“…Welcome back.” 

Roman turned to see Logan beside him, looking over him for a few moments. “…Thank you. Sorry, I didn’t hear you come out here. I guess I was… Lost in thought.” 

“…I didn’t mean to interrupt, if you were looking for space.” Logan replied simply, meeting his gaze. 

“Oh, no no. It’s fine. …I prefer the company.” He assured him. 

“Ah, well.. I’m glad to provide it.” 

“…I appreciate it.” 

Logan paused, the two of them standing together quietly. Once again, that felt like a line Roman would have turned into something… He just had to know. 

“…May I inquire about something?” Logan asked, turning to face him, looking up into his eyes slightly. 

“Of course.” Roman responded, turning and giving him his full attention. 

“…I apologize, I just… You always treated me… Rather differently, before. Before we all revealed ourselves to one another. I was just curious as to why…” Logan hesitated, seeing Roman’s expression looking conflicted, but then continued. “…you stopped.” 

The popstar seemed a bit surprised at the addition of those two words. “…I guess.. The dynamic changed. When we were all… Anonymous, in a way, we were on an even playing field. We were all just people.” He began, a sinking feeling forming in Logan’s stomach that Roman was going to explain that he considered himself above them all. But Roman continued. “…After we all kind of… Had introductions, I wasn’t sure if it would be right of me to continue flirting with you all the time.” 

“…If it would be right of you? What do you mean by that?” 

“I.. I suppose I didn’t really have an end game in mind. I didn’t know if anything would ever come from all of that flirty banter… But once you knew that I was…” Roman gestured vaguely to himself and the penthouse around them. “…All of this. I didn’t know if you would feel… I don’t know. Obligated? Intimidated? My life is… Weird. It’s cameras and press and attention. It’s… Money and extravagance and nonsense. I just… I didn’t want you to feel like you had to give in to my advances because of who I was… Or, worse honestly, that you might only do so because of that.” He explained, still maintaining eye contact wit him the entire time. 

That was not what Logan was expecting. Not at all. “So, you.. You didn’t want to pressure me, or to have to worry that I would not like you for you. Is that what you are saying?” 

“…I mean, you said it much more clearly than I did. But.. Yeah.” Roman let out a soft breath of laughter. 

“…I don’t really care much about what it is you do, or what you have. You.. You have shown what kind of person you are on more than one occasion. And that is what I truly care about.” Logan said, his bright blue eyes still staring directly into Roman’s. 

Roman looked surprised, chocolate brown eyes widening. “So, what is that you are saying?” 

“I’m saying…” Logan’s mind wandered back to the last flirting attempt Roman had made, all those weeks ago. “That perhaps I do have something to hold against you.” 

The popstar quickly smirked, finally standing to his full height and no longer leaning on the railing. “…Professor Ellsworth, are you flirting with me?” He smirked, looking down at him slightly. 

“…Yes. Now, I’m quite through with talking.” Logan reached up, taking either side of Roman’s open jacket collar into his hands and using his grip to pull him to his level before leaning in and kissing him. 

Roman was clearly surprised, but it was only a split second before he closed his eyes and brought his hands up to Logan’s waist, happily kissing him back with the backdrop of the city skyline behind them.


	23. A Plan

The two of them stayed out on the balcony together until Logan insisted he and Roman head back in. His ‘official’ reason was that he believed Roman was starting to get too cold and he needed to get back inside before he risked illness. And while that was definitely true, and Logan was the one who would be the best at sensing it, he had a nagging suspicion Remy would be sneaking about and he didn’t exactly want him suddenly joining them on the balcony during their moment. 

He may have still managed to catch Roman giving Logan a kiss goodnight before he headed back down the elevator to leave for the night, and he may have also sent out some texts, meaning the rest of the team knew about the development before the professor had even arrived home. 

Of course, no one was exactly surprised. They were all very happy for the two of them, the real shock was really that Remy and Declan had gotten together before Roman and Logan had. But things were good, and they were all very happy. Patton and Virgil had really become the absolute best of friends, able to support and understand each other better than almost anyone. And Emile had really settled into his grandfatherly role in the group, taking excellent care of his ‘kiddos.’ Patton really seemed to be soaking up a lot of the example Emile was setting, and despite the fact that he, along with his twin, was the youngest one in the group, he was clearly more than ready to step into the dad role.

Along with all of that, Roman seemed to finally be making some sort of headway with his efforts. Things were far from fixed and perfect, but with him, his connections, and his obvious passion for the movement, breakthroughs were starting to happen. More and more people were feeling inspired by the cause and mutants were beginning to feel a bit safer with what seemed like change on the horizon. They were still remaining cautious, but it was undoubtedly a time that felt better than ever before.

Even though things were good, everyone seeming like they were doing well, Emile still did his best to keep up on his people. Virgil had been able to open up a lot more about his actual worries since the two of them had discovered they had much more in common than they ever would have thought, and he still had his regular appointments to help with his general anxiety. 

“How have you been doing? Are you feeling a little better as of lately? Things do seem like they are improving for people like us.” Emile began one session, smiling softly at his patient.

“I mean… Yeah, I guess.” Virgil shrugged a bit noncommittally, fidgeting with his hands. 

Emile reached for his drink, taking a long slow sip and closing his eyes as he did so. It was a classic move of his during sessions so his patients wouldn’t notice his eyes glowing red as he searched for the root of the problem. With a slow, content sound, he placed his cup down and opened his eyes, revealing the soft blue color. 

“What’s on your mind, Virgil?” He asked, looking over the young man. 

“…I don’t know.. I just.. Yeah, things are better, I guess. And it seems like things are moving in a good direction… But like, people like the guy who yelled at Patton and the lady who got him and Declan evicted are still out there. …That story Professor El- …Logan, told us about his old teacher? That’s all still possible. I know Roman is working hard and doing what he can, and he took a huge risk putting his neck out there for all of us but like.. What if something happens to one of us? What if you or me or Logan have to leave the school? That could still happen.” Virgil explained, a bit rambly, still fidgeting with his hands. 

Emile nodded, understanding that Virgil had a valid point and a real concern. …Maybe he could follow Roman’s example. Maybe he could do something. 

It was a couple days later that Emile walked out of Roman’s elevator and found Logan and Roman sitting together on the couch. He walked over and plopped down on the couch to the side of their’s, looking over them with a smile. 

“Logan, can I talk to you about something?” He asked once they gave him their attention.

“Of course, Emile.” The professor sat up a bit straighter, looking at his colleague. 

Roman felt the energy in the room change as he looked over them both. “…Do you want me to give you two a minute?” 

But Emile quickly wave away his concerns. “No, no. It’s fine, Roman. You are more than welcome to stay.” Emile took a bit of a deep breath, getting his thoughts together. “…I’m considering going to the college board and talking to them. I don’t want you to feel like you need to do anything, this is simply something I am deciding I want to do, but I’d like to know your thoughts on the matter.” 

Logan quirked an eyebrow. “Alright, what are you going to go to them about?” 

“Well, with all that Roman has been doing and the strides being made… I’d like to encourage them that we should be on the right side of history. I want to discuss the college coming out and making a statement that we are a safe place for mutants. That no firings or expulsions will come from mutants being out and proud of who they are. To allow students and faculty to feel safe at their place of learning or of work.”

Both Logan and Roman seemed surprised, taking a moment to consider what it was Emile was saying. “…I believe that is quite admirable, Emile. I… I do not know how they will react to what you are proposing, but I do agree that this is a change that would be an enormous step forward in mutant prosperity as well as simultaneously harboring a feeling of safety that is sorely needed. I simply can’t give a very confident prediction in how they may respond to you. It’s a complete mystery, unfortunately.” 

Emile nodded, also considering what it was he wanted to do. Logan was right, there was really no predicting how it could go. And, unfortuantely, it could easily go poorly.

Roman glanced over the two more solemn men and raised an eyebrow. “…What if you tell them that if they agree to what you are proposing, and make that big statement proudly and openly, that I will donate like, a whole bunch of money to the school?” 

Two sets of blue eyes widened, gazes snapping to Roman as though they’d be able to tell if he truly meant what he’d just said. But they were met with the popstar’s confident expression, and they both knew that he almost never backed down.

Logan gave Roman a fondly exasperated sigh. “Really, Roman? You’re just going to… Throw money at it?” 

“What? It’ll help. And it’s your school too, it would probably also help you and I can  _definitely_  get behind that.” Roman shrugged, but there was a soft smirk present on his lips.

Familiar heat rose in the professor’s cheeks. “You better not do it just because of  _me_.” 

Emile couldn’t contain a soft laugh at the two of them. “You kiddos are so cute.” 

Logan groaned. “…Emile, you are barely older than me.” 

Roman’s eyes immediately widened, seemingly completely shocked. He knew that Emile couldn’t actually be that old, but because of his serious Grandpa vibes Roman wouldn’t have been surprised if he was around 50 years old and just took really good care of himself. “…You’re almost as old as  _him_?” Roman quickly turned to Emile. “…How old are you?” 

“I’m 31.” Emile was obviously amused.

Roman immediately turned back to Logan. “ _You’re almost as old as him?!”_

“…Roman. You, yourself, are 27. The fact that I am 30 is..” 

Logan didn’t get to finish that sentence because suddenly his boyfriend had dramatically thrown himself across his lap with his arm draped over his face to cover his eyes. “I’m dating a cradle-robber! What will I do when the press finds out?! This is the end of me! My sparkling reputation!” 

The professor’s face was completely blank, looking down at the popstar in his lap. “…Roman. Seriously?” 

Roman peaked up at him from behind his arm. “…Logan, I’m trying to lament here, could you give me a moment please?” 

“…As you wish.” The professor sighed.

“Thank you.” Roman’s arm went back to covering his eyes as he continued to groan about his predicament. 

Emile may have been concerned at first from how immediately Roman had begun his melodramatic wailing, but as soon as he saw the slight twitch of a smile at the corner of Logan’s lips and how Roman was still leaning completely into his boyfriend’s arms as if to silently ask him to hold him there, he knew this was just their playfully dramatic dynamic. The therapist couldn’t help but smile warmly, deciding to leave them to it and to go prepare his proposal to the college.


	24. Chillin'

Emile began spending most of his free time working on exactly how he wanted to approach the college board with his plan, and once he had gotten his proposal together, he scheduled a meeting with all of the board members. The therapist also made sure that Roman would be available in case they would end up having to rely on the popstar’s donation offer to carry the plan through. 

He was really hoping it wouldn’t come to that, Emile having faith that the people of the board would want to be on the right side of history and do the right thing… But he did appreciate that Roman was on standby just in case. He had gathered some articles and other news sources talking about the movement, putting it all into an accordion folder so he could take it along as extra information to back up his points. 

It was all very important and structured, Emile having taken the time to write a few drafts of a little script for himself. He was ready and prepared to deliver all of his points when the day rolled around, him having reminded Roman and asking him to be ready to come by if necessary. 

What Emile, along with all of the others, hadn’t expected is that Roman would decide that being all the way back at his penthouse would be too far away. What if they needed him all of a sudden and he wanted to make the best possible impression? He had to be closer. 

So when Remy turned around to see the next customer that came into the coffee shop, the last thing he had been expecting to see was a certain Roman Sterling, wearing a hat and a somewhat large coat, standing before his register looking up at the menu. 

The barista’s golden eyes widened from behind his aviator’s, his voice lowering to a breathy whisper. “… _Roman? What are you doing here?”_

At the sound of the name, a snake popped it’s head out of the hood of Remy’s jacket, somehow giving the popstar a disapproving look despite his lack of human facial features. All he did was give a tired sounding little hiss before diving back into the comfort of the hood. 

“What? I’m just out for a… Coffee. Can’t a guy just get a coffee?” Roman shrugged, indignantly sticking his tongue out at the snake. 

“Yeah, a guy can ‘ _just get a coffee_ ,’ but you aren’t just ‘ _a guy_ ,’ Roman.” Remy said, still keeping his voice low. 

Roman glanced around the shop, scoffing and taking his hat off to run his fingers through his soft blonde locks. “There isn’t even anyone here. And besides, I wanted to be close by incase I had to drop by the college and help Emile.” 

Remy just rolled his eyes, pulling out his phone and sending a message on their communicator before slipping the phone back into his pocket. 

Sandman:  _Code: Sparkly Dumbass at the Beanery._

“Whatever, Metallica. Just get me a… I don’t know. All the coffee names are weird. Just.. Something tasty.” Roman shrugged before tossing his debit card to the barista and going to drape himself across one of the armchairs. 

Remy sighed heavily before punching something into the register and swiping Roman’s card, then moving to start making a drink. 

It was almost no time at all before the door burst open with a flourish of anxious purple. Everyone glanced to see Virgil rushing in, immediately making a beeline for Roman. “What are you doing here?! What if people see you?!” He asked, waving his hands dramatically as he spoke. 

The bang of the door had been loud enough to draw Patton’s attention from the back, him popping his head through the doorway to see Virgil and Roman. 

“Oh! Hello!” He waved happily, going from behind the counter to join them. Declan popped back up out of the hood to share an exhausted look with Remy who just gave him a shrug as he continued to make Roman’s drink. 

“Hey Pat!” Roman waved up at him, still laying sideways across the armchair.

“Hi Ro! Nice to see you out and about!” The younger man smiled, managing to inadvertently prevent from Virgil from continuing on. But even his cheery disposition wouldn’t be able to stop… 

The door swung open again. “….Roman, really?” Came a tired voice. 

Roman’s eyes lit up, him shifting up onto his knees to look over the back of the armchair to see his boyfriend. “Logan!” 

The professor just rubbed the bridge of his nose beneath his glasses, never knowing what to expect from the popstar and his antics.

“Well, gang’s all here. This is unexpected.” Came Declan’s voice, them all looking over to see that he was now back to being in his human form and was leaning on the counter. 

“Guess we’re hanging out while we wait to hear from Dr. Sweatervest?” Remy asked, walking over to hand Roman his drink and his card back. 

“Guess so.” Roman shrugged, slipping the card back into his pocket and then taking the cup. “Thanks, James Bond.”

“James Bond?” Remy asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“…I believe Roman is referencing the James Bond film, and it’s adapted video game, GoldenEye.” Logan shook his head slightly, giving Roman a look, but his boyfriend only smiled and happily gestured his coffee at the professor. 

“Yes! 10 points for Ravenclaw!” He cheered before taking a sip.

Virgil groaned loudly, letting his head fall back hard. “Can we try and keep the references at least in the same general theme here? I’m going to get whiplash.”

“..Oh this is good. Remy is in charge of coffee forever.” Roman let out a content ‘ah’ as he pulled the cup from his lips. 

Remy rolled his eyes, draping an arm over Declan. “Yeah, it’s my  _calling_.”

The popstar brought the cup up for a long drink when the door opened once more and everyone else’s gaze snapped to see who had come in. Declan had already instinctively changed into a cat, hopping onto the countertop to get a look once the bell chimed.

They all looked over to see a young woman, looking very lost and confused. Patton took a step closer with a smile. “Hello, Ma’am! Can I help you with anything?” 

She looked over them, her gaze settling on Remy before she spoke. “Disculpe, estoy perdida. ¿Me puedes ayudar?”

They all paused, the five of them turning to look at Remy to see if he would know how to respond, but the barista just looked lost as he tried to come up with something to say. Thankfully, a voice cut in before Remy could start to attempt to make his way through the conversation. 

“Sí, por supuesto. ¿Adónde quieres ir?” Roman asked, all of them surprised to turn and see the blonde so easily responding. 

The woman looked beyond relieved, smiling at Roman. “Necesito encontrar la estación de tren.”

“Sigue adelante hasta el semáforo y gira a la derecha. Lo encontrará en cinco minutos.” Roman pointed out the front door and up the street.  

She nodded thankfully, waving and turning back for the door. “Gracias.” 

“De nada, señora.” Roman waved in return before going back to his drink as though nothing happened. “….Damn, this is good.” 

The rest of them were still looking shocked, glancing amongst themselves. “….You speak Spanish?” Logan’s confused voice finally broke the silence, causing Roman to look around at all of them and realize how surprised they all were. 

“Uh, yeah?” 

“…What did she need?” Patton asked, taking Roman’s attention. 

“Oh, she was just lost. She asked where the train station was.” He explained with a noncommittal shrug.

“…..how do you know Spanish?” Virgil finally blurted out, curiosity winning the battle that had been raging in his head about asking. 

Roman gave a slightly humorless laugh. “I mean, I was raised by nannies. It’s not like either of my parents speak it.” 

Patton and Virgil definitely shared a slightly pained glance at that, neither enjoying being reminded of how Roman’s parents were and all he had had to deal with.

It got a bit quiet after that, none of them really knowing what to say, but Roman just finished off the rest of his drink before looking back up to Remy. “…Can I have another one of these?” 

“…Am I about to regret giving you caffeine?” Remy raised an eyebrow, but still grabbed another cup and started making him the coffee.

“Mmm.. Maybe get something for everyone, just in case. My treat.” Roman laughed. 

They all stayed in the coffee shop for a while, Roman at least agreeing to turn and sit the correct way in the chair so he wasn’t obviously visible to anyone who walked in, and just spent a good amount of the day hanging out and talking in the comfortable space that the coffee shop provided. 

It was a good bit later that Roman’s phone vibrated, him picking it up and reading the text message before standing up. “..Alright. That’s my cue. Wish me luck, gays.” He laughed, putting his hat back on and giving Logan a kiss before he waved and walked out the door of the shop, heading off to go assist Emile.

Logan and Virgil shared a look, wondering what was going to happen on their campus.


	25. The Meeting

Roman made his way to the school, keeping his head down slightly so the brim of his hat could do most of the work for concealing his face and identity. Luckily enough, a college campus was a pretty judgement free place, and anyone who passed by him didn’t even give him a second glance. He made it to the floor of the building that he had been asked to come to without any issues whatsoever, and it wasn’t until he reached the reception desk on that floor that he finally had to look up and fully show his face, finding a student worker there on the computer. 

“Hello there, I’m looking for a meeting going on? With Dr. Picani and the board members?” He asked. 

The student was still looking at the screen, seeming like they had been in the middle of something when Roman walked up. “The school board? Um… I don’t know that I’ll be able to let you in.. Let me see if there is a note here about visitors…” They mumbled, switching to another program to check the meeting schedule. 

“…I’m a bit of a..  _Surprise testimony,_  let’s say. And trust me, they aren’t going to fault you if I make it in there. Could you please just let me know which room it’s in?” Roman was a bit bemused, still watching the student. 

“Um, sorry, Sir. It’s just that I could get in a lot of trouble if…” They finally glanced up to see who they were speaking with, realizing immediately who it was and cutting themselves off mid-sentence. 

“Then I’ll tell you what, I’ll take the blame entirely if anything goes wrong for you alright? Worse case scenario, I’ll help you get a new job and cover your tuition. How about that?” He laughed, watching as the student just slowly nodded, lifting a hand to point at a doorway in Roman’s view. “Thank you, I’ll be back.” Roman laughed, waving as he moved down the hallway. As he reached the door, he paused and turned back. “Hey, kid?” 

“Uh, y-yeah, Mr. Sterling?” 

“Do me a favor, write down your name and student ID number for me. I’ll grab it on my way out.” He smiled before adding, “Oh, and just Roman.” Then pushing the door open and disappearing inside, leaving the student receptionist completely shocked and scrambling for a piece of scrap paper. 

Roman had turned his back on the people in the room as he quietly shut the door behind him, hearing the conversation die as he entered. 

“…Is this the friend you mentioned, Dr. Picani?” Roman heard a voice from behind him ask. 

“Yes, this is R-” Emile began.

Roman turned with flourish, removing his hand and giving a slight bow. “Roman Sterling, at your service.” The popstar would never get tired of the surprised expressions that came from people realizing who he was, his smile only growing wider as he watched them recognize him. He subtly glanced to Emile, seeing that the therapist had a very soft smile at the corner of his lips, so Roman knew he was safe to continue on. He stood up straight and took the empty seat beside his friend, looking over the assembled board members. “So, my friend here asked me to come by to discuss a few things… I’m sure that this meeting has been going well?” He raised an eyebrow, looking over them all. 

It took a few moments for them all to glance around at each other and silently regain composure. “Yes.. Dr. Picani has brought us some rather… Interesting propositions. And it certainly isn’t that we don’t believe that it would be the right thing to do…” 

Roman‘s expression darkened ever so slightly, him leaning forward to rest his arms on the table. “Because it is.”

“…Right. Yes. It’s just that… In these rather divisive times, declaring such a clear… Choice, can be a dangerous thing to do.” 

“More dangerous than turning your back on people who need a place where they can feel safe?” Roman’s voice dropped a bit, obviously not about to back down. 

Emile put a hand softly on Roman’s arm, causing the popstar to turn to him. “…I believe that all of our hearts are in the right place, Roman. The issue at hand is more… Concerns about losing the school’s funding. Incase making such a decisive statement causes current benefactors to pull back.” He explained, Roman’s expression calming and the popstar leaning back comfortably in his chair, crossing a leg over his lap as his hands found their way to rest behind his head. 

“Well, in  _that_  case… I  _have_  always been passionate about the arts…” 

It wasn’t much later that the group of them left the meeting room, talking amongst themselves as they made their way back toward the elevator. Roman did pause at the reception desk on their way, making sure to get that note from the student who was still looking at him in complete disbelief. But Roman just slipped it into his pocket and gave them a wink before continuing on with the group. 

Emile made a mental note to ask what just happened there, but it could wait. He still had a lot of things to do. He was already planning on how this would all be done, knowing what departments and which people he’d need to speak with about getting this statement out there. He and Roman would need to have a few more meetings now that they’d gotten this first go ahead, and they’d probably also need some of Roman’s notoriety to get the statement truly out for all to see once it was prepared. 

But Emile was just ecstatic that this was going to happen, he was going to do something to help so many people… People like Virgil and Logan, hiding for fear of their education and their livelihood being affected. And countless others, he was sure of it. So he was more than glad to sit in meetings, draft statements, discuss plans… Attempt to understand what the social media department was doing to help. That was a bit of out of his comfort zone, but he still was enthusiastic about all he was able to accomplish. 

Thankfully, it all went over rather well. The school received a lot of high praise from several newspapers and online websites, even if there were also many who condemned them. Articles and papers came out about the school, hailing them for being progressive in these difficult times and setting a new standard, not only for educational institutions, but for places of work in general. 

There was only one issue that Emile had not foreseen when he set out to do this, despite all of his careful and meticulous planning and risk calculation. And that was that the school ended up trying to give him nearly all of the credit for the announcement. His name was all over the internet articles and newspapers, him being hailed as the driving force behind the change. The school really seemed to want to rename the counseling building after him, but that was something he rather vehemently turned down. The compromise ended up being the redesigning and repurposing of one of the rooms in the student union, the newly dubbed  _Emile Picani Center for Mutant Pride_. The EPCMP didn’t exactly roll off the tongue, but it wasn’t long before Emile himself heard it being referred to fondly as The Pecan. It certainly brought a smile to his face, and this was much more his speed than some of the other projects that the school had taken on. 

Speaking of which, the conversion of the Arts Hall to the  _Roman Sterling Hall of Fine Arts and Music_ had definitely incited a lot of attention from the press, excitement from the students… And eye rolls from Logan, Virgil, Remy, and Declan. Emile and Patton were supportive, Roman claiming all the while that they didn’t give him much of choice after the level of donation he had ended up making to the school. The other four weren’t sure they completely believed that story… But what was done was done and RSHFAM, which most of the students had started calling Diamond Hall, was a huge improvement on the old Arts Hall. After some updating, it had much more comfortable classrooms, updated equipment… And definitely rumors circulating that sometimes Roman Sterling himself would wander around it. 

Roman also completely covered and orchestrated the updates to both The Pecan and Diamond Hall himself, getting new flooring, fresh paint, and personally chosen decorum into both over the course of a long weekend, rather than the several weeks a full remodel would take. …That would be something he would look more into over summer.

So his team couldn’t be too exasperated, he was definitely actually helping… He was just managing to do so in the most Roman way possible. And as much as they wanted to give him a hard time about it… No one could find it in themselves to be surprised. 


	26. Another Class Period

Virgil hadn’t expected very much to change once Roman and Emile got the college to make their big announcement. Sure, The Pecan center was a really cool thing.. Even if Virgil was too anxious to actually go in there for fear of people finding out he was a mutant. He knew he was now safe with the school at least… But that wasn’t exactly motivation to out himself to all his peers. He did appreciate that it seemed like the student body was predominantly accepting, he was fairly confident all of those that weren’t had pretty quickly transferred out, so that also made him feel a little better walking around the campus. And of course Roman’s dumb art building… That was actually really cool, and way better than before… And directly made his own major classes more fun and better stocked with supplies… But in  _most_  ways, things hadn’t changed too much. 

He still walked into Professor Ellsworth’s chemistry class in the morning, taking his seat and doing his best to attempt to learn what Logan was up there teaching. They had a big lab they’d be doing their next class, so, as expected, their professor was reviewing what they’d be doing and the general lab safety and rules. 

What he hadn’t been expecting was a person to come in partway through the lecture and plop themself down in the professor’s chair behind his desk. Logan was a pretty strict teacher, definitely not one prone to interrupting himself just because someone had walked in. They could wait until he had finished and was ready to speak with them on his terms. 

The students were a bit confused, none of them recognizing who it was… And none of them knew who could possibly have been bold enough to attempt to disrupt Professor Ellsworth of all people. Well, none of them… Besides one. 

Virgil was doing everything he could to catch Logan’s eye, desperation in his expression. It took a few moments, or as Virgil would describe it - an eternity, for Logan to catch his gaze and hold it for a bit. The professor’s expression immediately became bored and tired as he realized what Virgil was trying to tell him. He finally paused, but made no move to turn around and look back at his own desk. 

“…Must you interrupt when I’m teaching? We are in the middle of a lecture.” He said suddenly, confusing the majority of the class. 

“What, I got bored. Can’t I come visit my favorite professor in the whole world?” He answered from the desk, plopping his feet up onto it. 

“…See, this is why I never would have let them put your name on a building. Now you think you own the place.” Logan sighed, finally turning around to see his boyfriend, watching as Roman removed his hat and ran his fingers through his hair, gasps sounding through the classroom as they realized who it was. 

“Oh come on, I’m not  _that_  bad!” Roman crossed his arms, pouting slightly at the back of Logan’s head. 

“Do you truly wish to have this argument? Because I can prepare a slideshow if necessary.” The professor retorted, unable to hide a small smirk at the corner of his lips, drawing a few chuckles from his class. 

“Don’t side with him!” Roman looked out to the classroom, seeing several students letting amusement overtake their surprise. 

Logan’s smirk grew a bit larger, a rare treat for his students to see. It took a moment before a student raised their hand, Logan gesturing to them to allow them to speak. 

“…Can we ask Mr. Sterling questions?” 

Logan let out a long suffering sigh, turning to move to his desk and softly swat Roman out of his seat. “If you must, but please refrain from calling him ‘ _Mr. Sterling._ ’ He deserves no such formality.” 

Roman let out an exaggerated noise of displeasure but moved out of Logan’s way so he could sit down and went over to lean casually against the board. “I wouldn’t have worded it quite like that… But yes, just Roman is fine.” 

A good few hands up shot up around the room and Roman started choosing people at random. 

A girl near the middle was first. “Will you sign autographs?” 

Roman shrugged. “Sure.” 

“Can we get selfies with you?” A boy from closer to the front asked.

 “Yeah, why not? Fine with me.” 

“Do you have a favorite song to perform?” Asked a student from the back.

“Hmm.. I mean, really anything high energy. It’s just a lot of fun to do and I get to move around more. Ballads are dramatic, which is also fun, but… Yeah, jumping around and moving across the stage is just unlike anything else.” Roman explained, smiling as he leaned back more against the board to continue talking.

A rather shy student from off to the side was finally called on by Roman. “Will you show us your powers? Like you did on the talk show?” 

Roman smiled, letting the diamond start at his finger tips and then bleed up until it disappeared under his sleeves. Several soft noises of awe moved through the classroom, all of the following questions becoming about Roman’s powers and what all he could do.

Virgil couldn’t believe this was happening right now. Roman just being a… His eyes widened, grabbing his phone and going to his communicator, scrambling to send a message. 

Stormwatch: Code: Sparkly Dumbass in Logan’s classroom.

Roman was still laughing and talking with the class while Logan was grading papers at his desk when the door opened once more and someone walked in. All eyes moved to the door to see who it was, them all taking in the man who had joined them. 

“Roman! There you are! I’ve been looking for you!” Came a very cheery voice. 

“Oh hey, Emile! I was just.. Paying Logan a visit!” Roman said, his expression and tone also friendly. 

No one in the room knew either of these men that well, and it would have seemed like nothing more than a friendly exchange to anyone watching. But Logan and Virgil knew something that no one else present did. The fact that only one person on Earth genuinely frightened Roman, and that person was the kind pastel man who seemed a little less than pleased that the popstar was interrupting a class. Emile never really got angry… But even a bit of exasperation from the therapist was enough to concern Roman thoroughly.

“Aw, that’s so nice of you, Roman! But if it wouldn’t be any trouble, I could really use your help with something.” Emile smiled warmly, looking back at him. 

“Oh, uh.. Of course. Did you need me.. Right now? I was just g-”

“Right now would be  _great_.”

“…Then I’d be happy to come assist you.” Roman turned back to the class. “Guess I’ll need a bit of a..  _Raincheck_  on some of that stuff, but I’ll be around, don’t hesitate to come up to me if you see me!” Virgil narrowed his eyes at the the word choice.

Logan stood to move back to the board, giving Emile a greeting nod. “I hope you and Roman are successful in what you are working on, Emile.” 

“Thank you, Logan. I’ll see you later. Bye Kiddos!” The therapist waved to the rest of the class as he moved toward the door, glancing behind him to see that Roman had hesitated slightly. From the angle he was standing, only Logan and Roman saw the ever so subtle red tint to the doctor’s eyes, definitely giving the popstar a bit more concern. 

But Roman only took a half step forward, glancing back to Logan. “Don’t I get a goodbye?” 

“…I’ll see you after class, Roman.” Logan shook his head fondly, rolling his eyes. 

Roman pouted slightly, looking back the the professor with big eyes. Logan just sighed and gave him a look, stepping forward to give his boyfriend a kiss. His boyfriend kissed him back happily, pulling away with a huge smile. “See you after class, love!” He said with a wave before jogging to catch up with Emile and leave the room. 

The class was absolutely dumbfounded by that little display, but Logan simply moved back to his spot and went back to where he’d left off with his lecture from before as though he’d never been interrupted in the first place.

There were only a few points left before Logan made the mistake of asking, “So does anyone have any questions?” Nearly every hand shot up, making Logan sigh. “…Questions that do not pertain to my personal relationship, or that are about Roman in general.” All of the hands lowered slowly. 

Logan moved his glasses up to rub the bridge of his noise in exasperation before moving over to his desk and leaning back against it. “…If everyone is completely clear on the lab next class.. I will answer a select few personal questions. Are you all prepared for the lab?” 

The class collectively nodded. 

“…Alright.” Logan sighed, watching as the hands all shot up once again. ….This was going to be a long day.


	27. Roman and Emile

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ok we’re back! Took a break for VidCon and to do that other little AU… Before we got into all this. :D

Roman and Emile walked away from Logan’s classroom, casually side by side and heading vaguely in the direction of Emile’s office. It seemed Emile was collecting his thoughts and deciding how to say what he wanted to, which only gave Roman more time to consider his concerns about what it might be.

The popstar felt a bit silly, Emile Picani was one of the softest most caring individuals he’d ever met in his life. He was a silly pastel man who often wore a sweater vest and comforted people with cartoon quotes. But Roman still genuinely felt he was correct in fearing what he was capable of. Sure, he, himself, was probably the strongest on their team. Physically. Patton could control their emotions if he wanted, Remy could knock them all out. Virgil and Logan could easily cause them all terrible lasting injury, and Declan could definitely manage serious damage if he wanted to. 

But none of them could so thoroughly incapacitate them like Emile could. He was the only one who had the power to stop every single one of them, cleanly, immediately, and with what Roman could only assume would be lasting consequences. And while he knew it was the absolute last thing that Emile would ever want to do for any reason, he still could, and if it came right down to it and he felt he had to.. He would. So yeah. Roman felt he had every right to be afraid of one Dr. Emile Picani. 

“So, Roman?” Came Emile’s voice. 

“Huh? Uh, yeah, Emile?” He answered, quickly turning to him. 

“…It’s been great to have you on campus, the students love seeing you and interacting with you in the hall or library.. Or the Pecan center. But please don’t interrupt classes. They are still here to learn after all.” The therapist said softly, looking up at Roman as they walked. 

“…Yeah, for sure. Sorry.. I wasn’t actually thinking about him having a class at this time, I was just going to pop in and surprise Logan. I will do my best not to let it happen again.” Roman nodded, looking back at him.

Emile smiled, patting him on the shoulder. “Thank you, Roman.” 

The two of them walked, still heading in the direction of Emile’s office, but as they went they had to make their way through the large open quad in the middle of the campus and they noticed a few people with large professional video cameras looking around. One of them spotted them, pointing them out to a well dressed woman amongst them, who immediately made a beeline for them. 

“Excuse me, Mr. Sterling!” She called, hurrying toward them with the cameramen following behind.

Emile and Roman both stopped in their tracks, glancing at each other before they turned to her. “Hello, can I help you?” Roman asked.

“Yes, please! I’m with Action 7 news and I was wondering if I could get a quick interview with you about the pro-mutant changes going on on this campus?” She asked, smoothing her skirt and blazer.

“…Sure? And please, just call me Roman.” 

As soon as he agreed, the cameras were rolling, the news reporter turning to them to introduce her segment. 

“This is Alice Rainey with an exclusive interview with the one and only Roman Sterling!” She turned to Roman, who was standing confidently with his suave smile on his face, nodding to camera. Emile was definitely out of his comfort zone, not used to being in any kind of spotlight. The articles and social media reports… His name on the Pecan center.. And now this? It certainly hadn’t been what he had expected. 

She continued. “So, Roman! What gave you the idea to start with this campus when it came to working on your goal for Mutant prosperity?” 

Emile had no time to react or try and scoot from frame, Roman immediately tossing an arm around his shoulders and pulling him in close. “Oh I can’t take credit for that at all, Alice. It was all my good friend Dr. Emile Picani! He started this campus on the right track and I just had to come in and show my support! This campus and I really have him to thank!” 

The doctor was blushing, but smiling as Alice turned to him. “So, Dr. Picani? You and Roman have really been doing your best to assist mutants around this area, what was it that inspired you to stand up for this cause?”

“Oh, well… I guess I just have always wanted to help people. Especially those who don’t know where else to turn. It’s just always been my highest priority.” He gave a friendly grin. 

He continued on, a bit embarrassed, mumbling the next thing he said. Most people watching probably could understand it.. But not the group secretly viewing on their fairly awful television. The volume was already low, and the television beaten up, so they didn’t hear it over the sound of a book being slammed down hard onto the table as Emile spoke. 

Weak protests were given, but it was clear that the one who’d thrown down the book had already made up her mind, seeing as she dove right out a paneless window, and all the others heard as she disappeared from view was the sound of huge leathery wings beating to carry her off in the light of the sunrise.

None of them who remained in the room had any idea what that interview, which the station had mentioned had been recorded just yesterday afternoon, would set off, but they knew that no matter what it was… It would be a very eventful day.


	28. Her Return

Virgil had slung his bag over his shoulder, walking near the back of the group of his classmates as they followed Professor Ellsworth from their usual classroom over to one to the science buildings where the actual lab rooms were. Logan had tried in the past to have his students just meet at classtime at the lab, but that seemed to always end in some sort of nonsense, so now it was protocol for them to just all walk over as a group. 

It was business as usual… For a few minutes. Logan swore the hair was already standing up on the back of his neck when one of his students let out a terrified scream, all of them snapping their attention to find the source of what had scared them so thoroughly. 

The student was pointing into the air, them all turning to see a furious looking woman with dragon wings soaring right for them. Logan’s bright blue eyes widened, mentally justifying the presence of the Dragon Witch on campus. Why would she attack the college? 

A roll of thunder pulled Logan from his thoughts, him noticing the clouds had immediately begun rolling in as she appeared. He glanced over his students, noticing Virgil near the back, it obvious to the professor that Virgil’s fright was affecting the weather as the student looked positively petrified.

He looked back up to see that she was hovering above them in the sky, her eyes looking over the group. “Where is he?!” She screeched. 

He? Who could she… Roman? Roman was the only high profile person around here… And he’d announced his powers on live television… Maybe she’d come to finish off one of the mutants who continued to terrorize them. 

“Give him up! Where is he?!” She screamed again, pulling back a hand to start charging up her powers. 

‘…And I know when you find yourself in a difficult situation, you’ll make the right decision.’ 

His teacher’s words bounced in his head as Logan ran to stand between his students and the threat, bringing up his hands and immediately shooting her with beams of ice. 

There were gasps from behind him, students shocked to see that their professor had powers, but while the Dragon Witch was shaking off his attack, he turned back to face his class, eyes the brightest glowing blue they’d ever seen. “GO! Get out of here now!” He caught eyes with Virgil for a moment, giving him the tiniest nod of his head before the emo fled with the rest of his classmates.

Virgil ran as fast as he could toward a bathroom, pulling out his phone and opening his communicator as he went.

Stormwatch:  _dragon with here fightrhen logan in the quad not cyrohneic jsut logan he needshelp please help_

Roman had been on the campus, hanging out in the library. He pulled out his phone to read the message, his eyes widening as he deciphered Virgil’s terrified typing. With a glance out the window, he saw how the sky had darkened, recalling that the forecast had definitely been for clear skies that morning. In a moment he was on his feet and sprinting outside, tossing his red leather jacket to the ground as he erupted through the library doors and toward Logan. 

“Hey! Leave him alone!” He called, shifting into diamond as he ran to standing with Logan. 

No, Roman, no! You’re who she… Logan paused, thinking that the Dragon Witch got what she wanted, but she didn’t react at all to seeing Roman. She still just screeched, rearing up an attack. “Where is he?!” 

Roman instinctively moved to block Logan, but her attack was interrupted by a bolt of lightning, the two older team members turning to see Stormwatch had appeared on the scene. He had a smirk on his face, holding up his hands and coming to float beside them. “Aren’t you two a little under dressed?” 

Logan smiled, glad to see Virgil looking less afraid. Roman just smirked. “Oh, never enough for my liking.” 

Stormwatch rolled his eyes, going back to focus on the fight. It wasn’t too long before they were joined by Sandman, Viper, and Pawsitivity, the six of them fighting her off to the best of their ability. 

Emile was sitting at his desk, communicator sitting open in front o of him, but staring at that picture frame he kept in his drawer. His sister… This was his fault. And now she was here. She was fighting his friends… His friends were fighting his sister. He needed to.. He had to finally… It was time to do the right thing. Emile stood, calmly beginning to walk from his office to the quad. 

The fight was still fully underway, the six dealing with the Dragon Witch and doing fairly well, but she was not one to be taken lightly. And it was clear that she was far more angry than she ever had been before. But they continued on, trying to hold her off when a voice called from behind the witch, all of them looking to see, not Nightmare, but Emile Picani walking toward them. 

“Simone. Leave them be. It’s me you want.” He called, looking up at her. 

With an angry screech, she swooped toward Emile, the other six near panicking as he wasn’t doing anything to defend himself. Roman reacted the fastest, running toward the two of them in full diamond, but all she did was turn and shoot a beam of energy directly at him. 

Normally her attacks would just burst against Roman’s diamond skin, dissipating into nothing. But this time, this beam seemed to phase right through it, bouncing around the facets of the diamond that made him up. It split several times within him as it hit corners and hard lines, ending up shot out through him. Most of the beams hit the ground or the walls, but others managed to hit all of his teammates. 

By the time the energy had completely left him, Roman was woozy and shaken on his feet. He wobbled for a few moments before he finally fell to the ground, completely unconscious and out of his diamond form. They were all taken aback, she’d never managed to take Roman out before. But while Patton rushed forward to tend to him, they saw she had gripped Emile’s shoulders in her large talon-like claws and was starting to fly off with him in her grasp. 

“No! Emile!” Logan yelled. He threw a hand up to try and shoot her down so she couldn’t get away, but as he attempted to fire another ice beam, all that happened was the extending of cat claws from the ends of his fingertips.


	29. Confusion

All Logan could do was lower his hand, looking down at it and trying to justify the claws protruding from his fingertips. Patton was still knelt over the unconscious Roman, gently trying to rouse him. The others were watching helplessly as Emile grew smaller and smaller… It not long before he and the Dragon Witch fully disappeared into the skin, fading from sight entirely. Logan slowly turned back to look at his team, eyes widening as they saw.. 

“Logan?! Your ears!” Patton gasped, instinctively reaching up to touch the top of his own head, finding nothing there but hair.

Logan did the same, but unlike Patton, there were cat ears sprouting from atop his head. “…Oh.” 

“…Didn’t you have.. Blue eyes, Lo?” Remy asked, looking over Logan with a raised eyebrow. 

“I d- … Do I not?” Logan asked, that honestly surprising him more than the cat ears. He pulled out his phone and switched to the front camera, looking down and seeing that his eyes were no longer their usual bright blue… Just a very common, very dark brown. “But..” 

“…Patton.” Remy piped up again, the group turning to look at him, but he was staring at his employee.

“What is it Remy?” Patton asked, looking back at him with confusion. 

“…You have my..” Remy reached up and took off his visor, revealing that his own eyes were now completely human - with pupils and hazel in color. Patton’s eyes widened, him doing as Logan had, pulling out his phone to see his own face, finding that his eyes were golden and pupil-less.

“…Did we all swap powers somehow? Is that.. Is that what her magic did?” Virgil suddenly asked. 

“It would seem.. That would be an exceptionally effective way of making sure we couldn’t stop her.” Logan mused, turning to Virgil and his eyes quickly widening. “…Virgil..”

The student was immediately concerned, not liking the look in his professor’s eyes or the tone he was using. “What?! What is it?” 

Patton looked over to Virgil, gasping softly. It wasn’t as obvious because he still had his mask and hood up, but there was an unmistakable shimmer on his left cheek… One that came from light shining off of golden scales. 

“…You have.. My scales..” Declan said slowly, bringing up his hand up to his own cheek, finding the skin smooth. He turned to Remy, the two of them looking over one another, tracing each other with their eyes… Noting how they looked so.. Common.

Virgil’s breath was becoming ragged, Patton rushing forward to take his hand and try to calm him down. But the realization that he suddenly had a very obvious physical mutation that he was not at all going to be able to hide was definitely weighing down on him. Patton went to use his powers to try and help Virgil calm down… But nothing happened. He couldn’t use his empathic abilities. The younger one turned quickly. “Logan! You have my powers, I need you to help calm Virgil down, please!” 

Logan was taken aback, his newly acquired cat ears twitching. “…I.. I don’t know… How?” 

“Focus on how you feel, how you want others to feel… Find the emotion you want to give and kind of.. Push it onto Virgil.” Patton tried to explain. He seemed to have no idea that was he talking to a man who’d spent so many years bottling his emotions that those words barely made any sense to him at all… Logan had no idea where to even start with that. “Uhh…”

Patton quickly went back to focusing on his friend, trying to lead him through a breathing exercise while Logan attempted to do as he was being instructed to. 

Remy and Declan were just looking at each other, but eventually Declan looked away to glance over everyone else a moment. “If they all have… That means between you, me, and Roman… We have Virgil’s weather, Logan’s Ice, and Roman’s diamond. One of us definitely has the diamond, I’m sure Roman didn’t get to keep it.” He mumbled, looking down at his hands and trying to figure out how to use whatever power he’d been shuffled. 

Remy joined him in looking down at their hands, trying to do what he’d normally do to summon his sand. Declan was trying to focus on what he would generally do, the two of them standing quietly until one of them finally got it. 

Declan was holding out his hands, trying to shift like he knew how to do… When he managed to turn a hand into diamond. “Oh! I’m.. Oh, I’m Roman.” He mumbled, looking down at his hand. “…shit this is heavy.” 

Remy couldn’t help but laugh at his boyfriend, looking him over, watching as he began to figure out how to get the diamond to travel further up his arm. 

It was Logan who pointed out that they were standing in the middle of the quad in broad daylight with an unconscious celebrity, and that they should really leave here to do this more in private. …And they really needed to tend to said celebrity, seeing as Roman had still not woken up. 

Remy and Declan managed to lift the popstar, walking him to Logan’s car, placing him in the passenger seat, reclining it back, and buckling him in. He was still breathing, and they didn’t find any obvious injuries, it seemed like he was just exhausted beyond belief from having that magic reverberating inside him. 

They all agreed to meet at Roman’s, Logan driving off and giving a call to the administration that he, Emile, and one student had been involved in an attack, and would be on a short leave while they assessed the damages. He didn’t mention that Emile had been legitimately kidnapped… But that would be a bridge they’d cross if they came to it. 

Thankfully, Roman began to wake on the drive over, sitting up with a groan, rubbing his head. 

“…Roman? How are you feeling?” Logan asked, keeping his eyes on the road. 

“Mm… Head hurts. What happened?” Roman asked, mumbling a bit. 

“You were hit by the Dragon Witch’s attack when you attempted to save Emile. …Unfortunately it didn’t work. He was taken and… We were all affected by her effort to prevent us from stopping her.”

“…Affected?” Roman asked, still rubbing his head. 

“…She swapped our powers, randomly amongst the entire team.” Logan said, letting out a sigh as he finally said it.

That definitely surprised Roman, him finally fully opening his eyes and looking over at his boyfriend, immediately noticing the car ears atop his head. “I… How did.. We…” He didn’t seem to know what he wanted to ask first. But he settled eventually on, “…Who’s do I have?” 

Logan glanced over at his boyfriend, seeing that his chocolate brown eyes were now an exceptionally familiar shining blue. “…Mine.” 


	30. Planning

Roman was in shock, looking back at Logan who had turned back to keep his eyes on the road. That moment had been the first chance that the popstar had gotten a look at his boyfriend’s face since waking. And even though he had turned away, he continued to look over his profile as he drove.

“…Your.. Your eyes.” Roman said softly. 

Logan kept his gaze forward, them getting closer to their destination. “…Look in the mirror.” He said simply. 

Roman raised an eyebrow, but reached to pull down the sun visor and then slide the mirror open. He let out a gasp, seeing bright blue eyes looking back at him from the reflection of his own face. “….I.. I didn’t realize that your eyes were…” 

The professor sighed, pulling into the private parking area for the penthouse. “Neither did I.” 

Logan parked the car, unbuckling his seatbelt and sliding out, Roman quick to do the same, moving over to him and pulling him into his arms. “Hey. We’re gonna.. We’re gonna figure this out.” He said softly, trying to be comforting, but his usual smirk was quick to return to his face. “Well… You’ll figure this out. You’re the smart one after all.” 

His boyfriend couldn’t help but roll his eyes and let out a subtle exhale of laughter. “…You do have a point.” 

“Damn right I do. Now come on, let’s get you upstairs so you can start using that big brain of your’s somewhere comfortable. We need to get these pretty eyes back where they belong, they look much better on you than on me.” Roman smiled, leaning in to press a kiss to his forehead.

Logan’s large cat ears twitched in embarrassment, his boyfriend definitely noting how adorable that was on the serious man. He took his hand and led him to the elevator, holding him close as they rode up. They made it into the house, finding that they had made it back first. The two of them went and sat together on the couch, Logan immediately beginning to ponder what they could try and do to get them back to normal. 

Roman, on the other hand, was staring down at his own hands, trying to figure out how to use these new powers. He didn’t think they’d end up stuck like this… Hopefully. But either way… He had them. Why not try and figure them out? 

By the time the elevator doors slid open and the other five came in, Roman had managed to make his palms a bit colder.. He was pretty sure at least. …Maybe he was just hoping he had. 

Patton was quick to see Roman and rush forward, jumping to give him a hug. “Roman! Oh I’m so glad you’re okay! I was so worried about you!” 

Roman instinctively caught and hugged the smaller man. “I’m alright, Pat. Don’t worry.” He said softly, pulling back to look at him, his eyes widening as he looked over his face. “…Whoa.” 

“What? Not used to seeing those eyes?” Came Remy’s voice from behind them. 

The popstar turned, seeing Remy and Declan looking back at him, neither of them looking anything other than human. “…Damn. This is crazy.”

“Oh shit, looks like we figured out where Lo’s went.” Declan commented, looking over Roman. 

“…Wait. If I’m Logan and Patton is Rem… Where’s..” Roman asked, looking over them all.

“…Here.” Virgil piped up, peaking out from behind Remy and Declan. He had pushed his vibrant purple hair forward, it now covering a decent percent of his face, completely hiding the left side… But they could all still see the glint of scales trailing down his neck and disappearing into his shirt.

It was quiet for a moment, all of them looking across each other. Not sure what to say. “…Shit. …She really did a number on us, didn’t she?” Roman finally asked.

“…Yes. She did. …We also do not know what she wanted with Emile. But he seemed to know it was him she was after.” Logan reminded them, bringing his hand to his chin as he thought, his cat ears twitching subtly. 

Patton nodded but then slowly recalled something from their fight. “…They know each other.” He suddenly piped up, everyone turning to him. 

“What do you mean, Pat? How do you know that?” Declan asked, looking over his twin with surprise. 

“He called her by name! He called her… Simone. And.. If she was trying to find him… She’s never reacted to him in his scary costume stuff… But she knew his face. I think.. I think they know each other, she just doesn’t know his costume.” He explained, looking a little nervous that he was contributing an idea. 

Logan’s eyes were scanning nothing in particular, moving back and forth quickly as he thought over Patton’s point. “….That makes perfect sense.” He said slowly, nodding. 

Virgil gave his best friend a playful little nudge. “Good thinking, Pat.” And it was no time at all before Patton was beaming from ear to ear. 

“…As much as that is an excellent point and probably matters to getting Emile back, which I want to do - don’t think I don’t… But uh, what are we supposed to do in the mean time? Our powers are mixed up, we have no where he went or how to fix this. What if somewhere gets attacked again? What if we need to-” Roman was gesturing as he spoke, but he was cut off when his phone began to ring in his pocket. He pulled out the phone, checking to see who it was before he swiftly answered it, walking off toward his room as he did so. “…’dette? Please tell me you have good news for me.” They heard him say as he disappeared down the hallway. 

No one knew much of what to make of that whole thing, but Remy picked up on some of the popstar’s point. “…he’s right though. We have no idea how to use these powers and we need to get somewhere with that, we don’t know how long it’ll be before we can fix this. …Assuming that we can.” 

Patton quickly piped up. “Well.. We’re all the experts on our own powers, why don’t we just try and help each other learn how to use them? Just Incase?” He offered. 

“…It’s the best plan we have, I guess.” Declan shrugged, Virgil also nodding. 

“I suppose… But we also need to work on getting Emile back.” Logan added. 

“We do… But if he’s kidnapped… How are we going to save him without our powers?” Virgil asked, quiet and nervous.

“…Okay. Here’s the plan. We’re going to start helping each other first, and then we can work on trying to figure out what to about Emile over some food.” Patton declared. He looked over the group, noting that with Roman in the other room, only two of them were human-passing. “…Rem, Dec. You two have to go pick up something, okay? You’re the only two who can go out right now.” 

The couple looked at each other, that not having had occurred to them at all. But as Remy looked over Declan’s smooth skin and Declan noted Remy’s hazel eyes… They realized that he was right. The two of them nodded, heading to the elevator. 

“Ok, so if Roman has my powers but he is currently busy, and you two have Remy and Declan’s and they are leaving…” Logan began. 

“Then that means it’s your turn first, Lo! Come sit on the couch, I’m going to help you get in touch with your feelings!” Patton said happily, taking Logan’s hand and pulling him toward the couch. 

Logan just grimaced. … _Great_. 


	31. Feelings

Patton and Logan had been at this for a good while. They were sitting across the coffee table from each other on opposite couches, the younger doing his best to explain what it was that the other needed to do. Virgil was on a couch to the side of them, not in their eye line as they looked at one another. Patton wanted Logan to practice using the emotion powers and had offered himself as the target, as they had all silently agreed that Virgil would be the worst possible guinea pig for this little session.

The problem wasn’t that he didn’t feel, he was human afterall. He had felt joy, sadness, fear… The main issue was in the disconnect between the way that Patton’s and Logan’s brains worked. Virgil was watching this for a good long stretch of time, and while he could see the issue that the two of them clearly did not… He didn’t exactly have a solution. So he just sort’ve had to sit back and watch. 

It had begun simply enough. 

“Ok, let’s start with… What’s something that makes you really happy?” Patton smiled, looking over him. 

“…I enjoy reading. And puzzles.” Logan answered, quirking an eyebrow. 

“No, like.. Like really happy! Like… Spending time with your family, or Christmas! Or puppies! Something that brings a big smile to your face!” The younger tried again, smiling wide as if to show an example. 

Logan’s cat ear twitched, his eyebrow staying arched. “…For what reason? What am I trying to accomplish?” 

“You have to know what you are trying to make the other feel. To feel it strongly enough to get them to feel it too!” Patton tried to explain. 

Logan just brought his hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose under his glasses. …This was going to take a while. 

He was correct. It was very slow going, Logan’s analytical mind was just not at all accustomed to Patton’s style of teaching. The younger was trying to explain what needed to be done, relying on the outcome that needed to be aimed for. But the professor was much more concerned with how to do it. He couldn’t reach the goal without explanation of the process of getting to it. His arms ended up crossed over his chest, looking down at his lap with a frustrated expression. Virgil had been watching this going on for a good while, and Patton had tried a decent number of things to see if he could help Logan but it was clear that they just had a very persistent disconnect. 

The closest they’d gotten was when Patton had begun asking how certain things made him feel… But only when the subject of the question had been Roman. Logan had definitely gotten a warmth washing over his face along with a slightly embarrassed twitch in his ears, but Patton certainly wasn’t feeling any differently as a result. 

The longer they went on, the more frustrated Logan was becoming. He wasn’t upset with Patton, but specifically with himself for the fact that he wasn’t getting this. He was a very smart man, this shouldn’t have been this difficult. Unfortunately, Patton was the only one who had his attention. 

It was after what must have Patton’s eight thousandth encouraging comment that Logan snapped at him, his voice quick and tight. “Look, this obviously isn’t working. We need to adjust or we’re never going to get anywhere.” 

Virgil’s eyes flew to Patton, unsure how his soft best friend would react to the frustration in Logan’s tone. But, surprisingly, Patton was matching his annoyed expression. “Well,  _maybe_ , if you tried a little harder, we wouldn’t still be doing this!” 

Both Logan and Virgil’s eyes blew wide, Patton quickly clapping his hand over his mouth and looking absolutely mortified. Their attention went quickly to a ‘thump’ that came from the entrance to the hallway, them all seeing a very surprised Roman who had dropped his phone onto the carpet once he heard the youngest one’s outburst.

They were all surprised, but it was Virgil who finally broke the silence by turning to Logan with a cheeky little smile. “So, Professor… Think you can do that again but with something besides anger?” 

Logan was quick to look away and purse his lips, obviously embarrassed, but it was Patton who had the obvious blush on his cheeks. It could have been from Logan, but it also easily could have been from his angry outburst. They didn’t have time to find out, Logan quickly turning back toward Roman. 

“…I believe I have done enough practicing for today. …Roman, how was your phone call?” He asked, quick to change the subject. 

Roman just let out a breath of laughter as she bent and scooped up his phone, then walked over to join them, plopping himself down on the couch next to Logan and looking over the group. 

“Uh… The call itself wasn’t bad, per se. It’s just that… It’s also not good.” He said, sighing as he opened his phone and went over to his calendar to look through it. 

“What happened?” Virgil asked, looking concerned. 

Roman didn’t answer right away, now distracted by his calendar and trying to work through something. He began mumbling a bit to himself, going over the dates. “…flight to… but then I’d have to…. ok I can.. If the venue will… But what if…. Well thats  _another_  problem…” He had rested his chin heavily on his hand, eyes flicking back and forth over the phone. 

Weirdly, Logan could suddenly feel the worry rising in the room. He looked around and could see the look on Virgil’s face… But he felt it too. He glanced to Patton, who was looking back at him and giving him a nod. 

The professor still wasn’t exactly confident enough to attempt anything involving Virgil, he didn’t want to give him any more stress. So he decided to tackle the issue in a more direct way, turning to his boyfriend. “Roman. Perhaps we can assist? What is the issue?” 

Roman’s icy blue eyes snapped up to look over the group, realizing he’d been talking to himself and not to them. “Well.. It was my manager. Basically… She went over all of the upcoming events I’m going to need to attend… And a few of them I’ll be able to postpone… But not all of them.” 

“…So what’s the problem? You do appearances all the time.” Patton asked, tilting his head in confusion. 

“…I do. But.. My powers are always at the forefront of them. And even if I could pull something off, or claim color contacts or something..” He gestured to his face. “… I don’t think people finding out that some mutants, like the Dragon Witch, have the power to do this kind of thing is good for the cause right now. …It’s already fragile, and that is not going to help.” He explained. 

Logan paused a moment, he did have a point. “…And there is no way for you to avoid this event? It is mandatory that you are there?” 

“Yeah… It’s.. It’s a huge deal, Lo. I’m talking red carpet. I.. I can’t miss it. And it would be the perfect place for me to get some mutant representation broadcasted everywhere. Not showing up would honestly probably lessen everything i’ve done so far, painting me like a pretty big coward.” Roman said, clearly not happy about it. 

Virgil raised an eyebrow. “Why would it do that?” 

Roman just sighed. “…Because it’s being thrown by my parents.” 


	32. A Day Out

Remy and Declan rode down the elevator in a strange silence. Neither of them had said a single word since agreeing with Patton’s request and stepping through those power double doors. The both of them were just focused so specifically on what Patton had said, his words bouncing around in their heads with no sign of stopping. 

“ _You’re the only two who can go out right now._ ” 

They moved out of the elevator and then made their way onto the street, stepping into the light of the day together. There were a few people out and about, Declan’s instinct to disguise himself quickly creeping up on him, but before he could attempt to use powers he didn’t currently have, he felt a warm hand slide into his. 

He looked up at his boyfriend, seeing that confident smirk on his face as he looked back down at him. Declan smiled back, lacing their fingers together and watching as Remy used his free hand to push his signature aviators up ontop of his head and out of the way. They still looked perfectly in place over the top of his long slicked back black locks, everything this man did was just so effortless… But that was no matter right now. 

The smaller of them gave his boyfriend a slight tug. “Come on, there’s a really good noodle place that Pat and I found down this way.” The taller nodded, the two of them setting off in that direction. 

It was a nice day, fluffy white clouds decorating a pale blue sky… It was cool out, but not cold, with a breeze that made being outside perfectly comfortable and pleasant. They walked hand in hand down a few blocks, past windows, past businesses, past a park, past several people… But no one paid them a second look. They just… Blended in with everyone else. Like it was nothing out of the ordinary at all. 

They knew they were on a bit of a mission, and they had important things that needed doing… But when they found a park bench on the edge of a grassy area with no one around it, they silently agreed they could spare a few minutes. The two of them just settled next to each other, looking around at everything… Everyone… And each other.

It wasn’t quite as weird for Remy, he did still live in the outside world the rest of the time, but he was still just enjoying the fact that he was able to watch Declan. His boyfriend had not experienced much, if any, of the world as a human. And it wasn’t as though riding around in Patton’s pocket had really allowed him to appreciate it. So there they were, Declan’s green eyes traveling over everything he could see. The people, the plants, the colors… It was so much to see. 

Remy didn’t care about the day or anything else going on at that moment. Just watching his boyfriend taking it all in, being able to just be outdoors and have a nice bit of time… Remy knew he was gone for this boy, but apparently it was even more than he realized. 

He had no long they’d been sitting there, he hadn’t been at all paying attention. But at some point he felt that familiar hand slip into his, causing his eyes snap back to focus. “Come on you, we need to go get that food.” Declan laughed, giving him a tug off the bench. Remy just smiled, standing up and following behind him with a nod. 

They walked together, Declan leading him right into the takeout restaurant. There was a huge menu to get through, Remy picking one up while Declan went to the register to begin placing the large order for everyone else. But before he could speak, the cashier looked up and quirked an eyebrow.

“…Patton?” 

Declan blinked slightly. After their whole lives of him staying indoors because of his scales… He’d never actually been confused for his twin before. “Oh, no. I’m his brother.” 

She looked him over a moment, studying him a bit before her mouth split into a smile. “I didn’t know he had a brother! And a twin, no less!” She let out a soft laugh. “It makes sense though, you two obviously look alike but… There’s something about you that isn’t quite so… Innocent.” The last word came in a bit of lower tone, her looking over him more pointedly as she leaned onto the counter. 

The group of them had predominantly figured out which powers they’d gotten after the mix up from either the physical attributes or them actually realizing how to use the new ability. With Remy though, it was process of elimination that had led them to realize he must have Virgil’s weather control. But, upon being present for someone flirting with  _his_ boyfriend… The resounding heat wave that rolled through the open front door and into the room was more than enough evidence. 

Declan pieced together the fact that Virgil’s powers had a tendency to act on their own accord when he was emotional… And then turned to see that his normally calm and confident boyfriend was definitely looking more than a little angry as the temperature began to climb quite a few rather noticeable degrees… Welp. 

He turned back to the cashier, laughing a bit and completely ignoring the flirting attempt. “Well, that certainly isn’t hard when you’re talking about Patton.” Then he looked back over his shoulder to Remy. “Hey babe? Did you figure out what you wanted? I’m sure Roman won’t want us to keep his order waiting.” 

The cashier’s eyes widened a bit, quickly straightening up to begin punching things into the register. “Oh! I didn’t realize you were here to get Roman’s order! I’ll.. Let me get his usual started!” 

Remy exhaled, calming himself a bit before moving over next to Declan and putting an arm around him. Together they ordered enough for the four waiting for them as well as themselves, then awaited their meal. It came out quickly, it becoming clear to Remy that be able to use Roman’s name this close to his home really got results. 

They collected the bags of takeout and left the noodle place, Remy not taking a hand off of his boy until he needed it to help with carrying the food. Declan waited until they were a good bit away from the shop to finally let out a laugh, Remy glancing down at him.

“What?”

“…I didn’t take you for the jealous type, Rem.” Declan looked up at him, a smirk playing at his lips. 

Remy felt heat build up in his tan cheeks. “…I just wasn’t expecting it.” 

“Mhm. Right. You’re just lucky I don’t get mad every time someone flirts with you at the coffee shop.” He playfully chided, bumping him with his hip.

“You do still generally give me a tail in the face.” Remy finally smiled, glad to know he wasn’t upset.

“I have to throw you off your game somehow. Can’t let you have it too easy, afterall.” 

“You wouldn’t be you if you did.” 

“Nope. You’d miss me.” He said simply. 

“Damn right.” Remy leaned to give him a kiss on top of his head, them still walking back to the penthouse. 

They reached the parking garage and the penthouse elevator again, hitting the button and getting inside. Remy turned to him again. “So. How was outside? Do you want to do that more often?” He asked, unsure how he’d felt about that little adventure.

Declan thought a moment before looking up at him. “It was fine… But nah. Being outside kind of sucks. There’s so many…  _People_.” He laughed, pushing up onto his toes to kiss him. “I guess… I’m happier with my usual situation than I realized.” 


	33. Noodles

The room was strangely quiet as Remy and Declan stepped through the elevator doors with the bags of takeout. Remy nearly made a joke about it being so dead in there… But with one of their team mates missing and no leads, he decided it was in poor taste for the moment and just kept it to himself. …Maybe he’d tell Declan later. So instead he went with, “What did we miss? …We brought noodles.” 

The four in the living room turned to see them, smiling a bit as they rejoined the group. Roman’s smile was definitely a bit tired, but he just took his lunch with gratitude and began to eat. It was clear that the popstar had a lot he was trying to mentally work through… And right now they had no Emile to try and help him. Virgil glanced around, getting a little nervous at the slight tension surrounding the six of them. 

Patton was without his powers, and it was clear that Logan was not at all comfortable with using them in his stead, but he was still an extremely empathic person - powers or not. He took a little breath and turned to Roman, breaking the silence with a sincere and gentle tone. “…What’s on your mind, kiddo?” 

Everyone immediately looked to Patton, quickly having to realize that the nickname that Emile was known for had just come out of the mouth of the youngest among them - as long as you ignored the fact that Patton was older than his twin by a handful of minutes. 

Roman felt a little smile break his visage, his expression softening as he looked back at Patton. “…I’m just trying to figure out what to do. This news just.. It puts things on a bit of time crunch.” 

“Well, six heads are better than one! Why don’t we try and figure it out together? I’m sure it’ll go much faster that way!” Patton smiled wide, nodding and looking around at the group.

“He is correct, Roman. We should attempt to find a solution as a team.” Logan agreed, also offering a small rare smile.

“Yeah, and the two of us don’t even know what you’re talking about.” Remy pointed out, gesturing at him with his chopsticks, despite there being a bite of noodles wrapped around the end. 

“Oh, right. Well… To recap. I got a call from my agent about some events coming up… There’s one I absolutely can’t miss but uh.. It’s being thrown by my parents.” He explained, looking to Remy and Declan. 

“…Oh. Ouch.” Was all Declan managed. 

“…Yeah. It’s just… I mean. My mom won’t start anything. She’s too worried about her perfect reputation to risk anything in public where people might see her. Honestly, that whole thing would have gone a lot differently if she’d know you were all here.” Roman said offhandedly, getting a bite of his lunch. 

“Can I.. You said both your parents. Is your dad… Like she is?” Virgil asked softly, drawing attention back to the newly scaled college student. 

“He’s… My dad and I have always been… Fine. We just don’t have anything in common. Well, I’m almost a clone of him, but beyond the physical stuff. So, I don’t really know. …I haven’t even heard from him once since my whole mutant announcement. But I don’t actually know what that really implies, actually. If he agrees with my mom so he’s just not talking to me anymore? Or if he just doesn’t care enough to acknowledge it… It could be anything.” He shrugged. 

Patton and Virgil were once again especially upset by the fact that Roman didn’t have a good family life.. But now wasn’t the time. They shared a soft glance, silently agreeing they were on the same page and silently vowing to continue to try to be the family that their friend deserved.

“Ah. Well… At least that’s not.. Negative?” Remy offered his best attempt at optimism and Roman just shrugged, only offering a noncommittal little sound in response. 

“…Back to what you said earlier. What kind of time frame are we dealing with?” Logan asked, getting Roman’s attention back. 

“…Well, in a perfect world, I’d have my powers back before I needed to get fitted for my suit for the event.. Then time for it to be made, I can handle the travel arrangements at anytime really.. If I call my tailor and ask her to… But then I’d..” He started to trail off again. 

“Roman.. Please. Try and involve us in your thought process.” Logan reiterated, but remained soft. 

“Sorry, sorry. Um.. For things to go as perfectly as possible.. About a week. Cutting it closer would be… two and a half.. three ish? And worse case scenario, a little over than a month.” He explained, still thinking. 

“…I see.” Logan responded, bringing his fingers to his chin to think. 

Remy just crossed his arms, leaning back in his seat and knocking his sunglasses back down onto his face just so he could judgmentally peer over them at Logan and Roman. “Ok, that’s great and all… But what does it matter if we don’t have the power to do anything about this? Really, we’re just waiting for Emile to kick the Dragon Bitch’s ass and bring her back to fix us, right? Like… All we can do is wait and hope that nothing happens in the mean time.” He said, gesturing vaguely with one hand and arching one eyebrow high. 

As simple as he made what was a fairly complicated predicament sound… The barista had a very valid point. Did it matter what they planned if they had no current solution they could really work toward? …In theory, it was really all in Emile’s hands now.. Wherever he was, they just hoped he had his situation under control.


	34. Simone

Emile was strangely calm, especially for someone who’d just been flown an unknown distance through the air, dangling from talons wrapped around their shoulders. Weirdly, she wasn’t hurting him. Sure, it wasn’t the most comfortable set up, he was basically behind help up by his armpits… But he knew for a fact the talons on those dragon feet of her’s could easily pierce things much hardier than he was. 

He had also given up on trying to make sense of where they were going, the landmarks were rather far below them and he definitely wasn’t trying to squirm for a better look. So he just… waited. At some point they descended, him looking down to see that they were approaching a rather dilapidated looking building, in a completely abandoned area, surrounded by trees. …It certainly wasn’t looking good for him. 

She dropped him once he was a foot or so from the ground, him able to land on his feet without injury, and then immediately landing beside him. She turned to him, eyes still burning with fury, and reaching out to grab a handful of his sweater over his chest, twisting her fist and starting to pull him behind her, heading inside. Emile didn’t resist, walking along behind her as she lead him through. 

One thing he hadn’t expected was the presence of other mutants. But there they were, his eyes traveling over them as they watched her pulling him along. In the front room, sitting on an old couch and watching a old beaten up television were two, a man who had long skinny braids that idly seemed to move around him as though he were underwater, and a woman with neon pink skin. They both looked his way as he walked through, seeming as surprised to see him as he was to see them. 

The next room had a girl, who’s skin and hair was covered in a smattering of different flowers, talking with the person beside her, who had antlers, but the two of them quickly quieted down when they entered so they could silently watch as Emile was pulled past. The therapist certainly had plenty of question about this set up… How many more of these mutants were there? What were they all doing out here? What was this place? But he was quite aware that he wasn’t in the position to be questioning his sister.. She obviously had a goal in mind with whatever was happening.

Emile just continued to follow, only hesitating at one point out of confusion. He had been able to hear her talons tapping along the stone floor as they went, but at one point the sound changed. He paused as he looked down, seeing that there was a manhole cover in the middle of the space. That hesitation only got him a harsh pull forward, but he had suddenly become aware that this building had an exceptionally high number of manholes, with their metal covers in nearly every space they went through. That detail begged for time to ponder why this one building would need so much sewer access, but there was no time for that now as they reached what seemed to be a modified bedroom. His sister dragged him into the room and slammed the door behind them before moving to block his path back through. 

He was facing the opposite wall, standing still where she had flung him forward. He slowly turned, standing to face his sister. More calmly than he really ever had before. There was something in him that felt happy about this, that was finally reunited with his sister after all these years. But the majority of him was still rather aware that this was a a predominantly terrifying moment. He had no idea where he was, his team didn’t either, he was very much at his sister’s mercy… And she looked furious with him, staring back at him nearly unblinkingly. 

Emile took a breath, the two of them just looking back at each other for a moment. “….Simone, I..” 

“Shut up! I don’t want to hear it! I didn’t bring you here to hear excuses out of you!” She snapped, cutting him off. 

He just blinked, looking over her. 

“How dare you. How  _dare_  you. You’re trying to suck up to the mutants now? You’re doing all this hollow gesture bullshit to try and make it look like you give a shit about us? You  _never_  gave a shit about me! You never ever did! And now you’re out here on the news running out with celebrities who’re singing your fucking praises? How low can you get? Trying to make yourself feel better?” Simone snarled back at him, taking a half step closer in her anger.

Emile could only blink again, it hurting him deep down that that was what she thought of him… but, she had no reason not to. “Simone, no.. That’s.. That’s not at all what this is. I..” 

She cut him off again. “And I swear, if I find out you’ve been doing this just to try and get mutants..  _Kids_  to feel like they aren’t fit to be outside and living their lives.. I swear you will never get a moment’s peace.” 

“…What? What’re yo-” 

“You think I’ve forgotten? The way you and our parents kept me trapped in the house? Unable to go outside and do anything? We could have come up with something! But no, you three treated me like a monster! Like I wasn’t fit for life with humans!” 

“No, Simone, I di-” 

“And now I’m here! In this run down building with these other mutants who have no where else to go! Because they all have had to deal with people like you! People like you and our parents who make them feel like they have no options and no where to go! Now we’re hiding out here, stealing to get by!” 

“I never wanted to m-”

“But it’s not like you care! It’s not like you give a shit about what I have to go through! When I ran away you were probably relieved, weren’t you?! You just wanted to forget that I ev-”

For the first time, it wasn’t Emile who was cut off. He had reached into his back pocket and pulled out that picture frame he kept in his desk, pushing it toward her. She paused, looking down at it, reading the inscription on the frame. 

“ _Remember that you can’t save everyone.” “But remember that you always have to try.”_

She froze, looking over the picture of the two of them from all those years ago. 

“Simone. I was wrong. Our parents were wrong. They had no idea how to handle having a child who is a mutant and they made all the wrong choices. And I didn’t do anything about it. I was… I was a young kid who thought his parents must know what they were talking about, and I ended up making my big sister feel alienated and wrong for being who she is. That’s no excuse. I was wrong. I should have thought for myself. I should have realized how wrong it was. But I didn’t. I’m sorry. I’m so profoundly sorry.” 

Simone just blinked, looking over him, searching for sincerity. She didn’t say anything. 

Emile continued. “I don’t expect you to forgive me but… I want you to know that I never stopped caring about you. I never forgot about you. Not even a little bit. You’re the reason for everything I’ve ever done. I became a therapist to help people like I failed to help you. I fight for mutant rights that you never got to have. Everything I’ve done.. Everything I am.. It’s because of you.” 

She still didn’t seem to know how to respond. This was obviously one of the last things she had expected to happen. 

“…I’ve tried to talk to Mom and Dad about this… About mutants and mutants rights.. But they don’t understand. I don’t think they ever will.” He added, softly. 

Simone’s eyes narrowed again. “…You say that like you ever will either. You don’t understand.” 

Emile looked back at her for a moment, deciding how to answer her. “…I don’t understand what it’s like to be you. …Or any of the mutants who have to navigate being unable to easily blend in with humans. …But I do understand.. More than you realize I do.” He sighed, closing his eyes for a moment and then opening them again once they’d turned to red. But he didn’t stop there, letting his hero facade come over him and changing him into Nightmare once again. 

She took a step back, looking over him. “…it’s been you? This whole time? You’re the one who’s been..” 

He quickly dropped it, going back to being himself. “…I didn’t know you were stealing to try and feed yourself.. Or others. I.. I never knew.. I’m sorry. But.. Yes. It’s been me.” He admitted. 

Simone stared over him for a few moments, not sure how to respond once again. She had brought him here to get some answers.. To find out what kind of person her brother had become after the slights he’d caused her. …But she hadn’t been prepared for this. “….you’re going to stay in here. I’ll be back.” Her tone was still angry, but she was clearly not as livid as she had been before. She turned on her heel and strolled out the door, slamming it shut behind her. 

Emile let out a long sigh, moving over to the bed and sitting down on the edge of it. He heard the door lock behind her and just sat there. Thinking. He wasn’t sure how long he’d let his thoughts consume his attention, just sitting and mulling things over. At one point he’d pulled out his phone, looking down at it. It was off, he’d switched it off before he’d even walked out of his office. He didn’t know if Declan would be able to track him with it on, and he didn’t want any of his team storming the area to try and retrieve him until he’d gotten to talk things over with his sister. He needed to do this.

He was finally shaken from his thoughts by the sound of metal scraping on metal, causing him to whip around to find the source of the noise. His eyes trailed downward and he was stopped in his tracks by a man looking up at him, his body only half visible as he was sticking out of the manhole that was in the middle of the room. But that wasn’t the shocking thing about the situation. Not by a long shot. 

He was looking at… Roman? If it weren’t for the white Mallen streak near the front of his dirty (both literally and figuratively) blonde hair, and the deep dark purple color around his eyes… he would be sure it was his famous friend. 

“What’s the matter,  _Emile_? You look like you’ve seen a ghostie.” The man smiled up at him, but it wasn’t Roman’s suave, subtle side smirk… It was too wide, too excited… Somehow unhinged.

“…Ro-Roman?” He whispered, eyes tracing over him. 

Anger flicked across the sewer man’s features, but it disappeared just as quickly as it came. “Oh no no, dear doctor. You seem to have me confused… For my brother.”


	35. Pondering

“B-Brother? You’re..” Emile was completely taken aback.

“Oh? Did he not mention his  _dear_ brother Remus? I always knew he was ashamed of me.” The man, Remus apparently, seemed bemused. 

“Ashamed? Oh, I’m.. I’m sure Roman wouldn’t… That doesn’t sound like..” Emile started to try and back away from that line of thinking. 

Remus just raised an eyebrow, leaning his familiar-looking face on his fist and looking up at him from his position halfway out of the hole in the floor. “Oh really? It doesn’t? Huh. Well in that case, I guess he isn’t my  _twin_ brother… The  _famous_ Roman Sterling. If he isn’t ashamed of me… Why do I live here in this little  _isle for misfit toys_ , hm? Why doesn’t he do something about all this?” He asked, clearly enjoying the confusion flashing over the therapist’s face. 

“I’m sure… There has to be..” 

“Face it, Dr. Peencan. That golden boy and his sterling reputation aren’t what you think they are.” Remus sneered slightly, looking up at Emile as though he knew he’d won.

“But. I..” Emile was cut off for what had to be the fifth time that day by the lock in the door clicking and the door swinging open. Some part of Emile’s brain provided that he should have heard his sister’s talons on the floor as she approached, but this sewer man had so thoroughly taken his attention. 

Remus lit up as Simone appeared in the doorway. “Oooo… Moany’s back.” 

She rolled her eyes. “How many times have I told you not to call me that?” 

“No idea, Moaning Murtle. But it has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it Wilma Flintsmoan?” He smirked, obviously picking at her. 

Simone’s eyes narrowed, staring him down. “Get back in your hole, or so help me…” 

And with that, Remus had disappeared back down the hole, sinking out like he’d never been there at all. 

Emile just looked over at his sister in confusion, her obviously still annoyed as she returned his gaze. “…He came with the building.” 

The therapist really didn’t know how to respond to that, coming up with nothing more than a small, “….Ah.” 

It was at that point that Emile noticed what his sister held in her hands, a plate with some very modest food on it. He glanced from it to her, his expression soft but confused. She very clearly still hadn’t come to consensus on how she felt about the situation they were in.. But she held the plate out to him. “…You’ve been here a few hours. I brought you something to eat.” 

He’d been here that long? Time really flew when you pondered every decision you’d ever made in your entire life, apparently. “…Oh. I.. I don’t want to take your food.” He said, looking up into her eyes. 

“Just take it, okay? It’s fine.” Simone held the plate out to him a bit further.

“…Ok. Thanks.. Seesee.” He gave her a little smile, taking the plate and sitting back on the edge of the bed to eat. 

Emile looked down to see what he had, picking it up to get a bite and seeing that she was still awkwardly hovering in the doorway. “…Can I ask.. How did you end up here?” 

Simone seemed to mull over answering him, eventually shrugging her shoulders and looking away from him. “Found it while looking for somewhere we could call our’s. I’d met up with a few others that I met online before I left and we’d just been trying to have somewhere to call our’s. Happened upon this place… It was abandoned and no one seemed to care to check up on it. Prim grew some denser tree cover to keep it more hidden, the animals warn Anthony if anyone is approaching. We made it work.” 

Emile nodded, listening. “…How many of you are there here?” 

“Why?” Her eyes immediately narrowed. 

“Just curious! Sorry, sorry. I.. I just was wondering how many… You seem to be taking care of.” He clarified, quickly bringing his hands up in an innocent surrender gesture. 

She still looked over him for a long moment before answering. “…Around a dozen or so. They come and go… Most of them stay. We don’t have anywhere else to go.” 

Emile just looked back at her sadly. “I.. I want to help you. All of you. I just don’t.. I don’t have the resources to do that as much as I’d like. But I’m going to figure it out. I’m going to make it right.” 

His older sister looked over him for what felt like the millionth time, Emile feeling like every time he spoke she was scanning him for sincerity. “…Look. That’s great and all. You got to give me your whole spiel and whatever. But this is the reality, Emile. This is what we’ve got and this is what the situation is.” She crossed her arms, closing her eyes and sighing before looking back at him. “…It’s nice to know you turned it around from when we were kids. But… For now, all I’ve got to go on is your word. So once we get somewhere with that.. Maybe things can be better. It’s just that right now.. They can’t.” 

He listened, taking that all in and nodding. “…I understand. That’s completely reasonable. But I promise you… I’m going to do something. I’ll make this better.” 

“…Sure.” She answered flatly, Emile almost able to sense that she wasn’t willing to get her hopes up. “…Anyway. I.. Can take you back.” 

“Oh, uh.. Right. Thank you. I’m sure my friends are wondering where I went.” Emile nodded. 

“…Yeah. We’ll go once it gets dark, it’s better for me to be able to get around. I’ll take you wherever.” She waved a bit flippantly, turning for the door. 

“Thank you. I’ll… Be here.” He answered not sure how else to respond. 

“…Yeah.” Simone seemed to share that feeling as she walked out, leaving him alone once more, but not closing the door this time.  

Emile sat there once again, with only his thoughts for company. He had so much he needed to figure out. He wanted to find a better place for all of these mutants to go. He wanted to help his sister and try and see if the two of them could ever be okay again. He missed his sister, there was just something about having a sibling that was… Sibling. Remus. Roman. 

That was an entirely other thing he needed to parse through. He didn’t want to believe that Roman would let his brother live in a sewer of all places. Not with the resources that the popstar had. But… How could a brother, an identical twin no less, slip through the cracks like that? 

But.. He couldn’t know, right? Emile began to run through every memory he had of the popstar, searching desperately for something that would help him find a way to convince himself that Roman wasn’t like that. He was generous, he helped everyone he could. He was friendly and nice… When Emile had mentioned having a sibling, Patton piped up about being a brother, also a twin, but Roman didn’t say anything. He didn’t even react. …Roman was… civil? with his mother. Despite them not having a good relationship, him and Remus couldn’t be worse than that, right? 

The words that Roman had said to his mother that day in the penthouse suddenly rang through Emile’s mind. “…about your only goddamn son..” He.. He couldn’t know, right? Because his mom had to know… Roman just had to be innocent in this. 

Right? 


	36. Planning

The six of them were still gathered around Roman’s living room, some of them having had pretty much accepted there was nothing they could do but wait… Others still trying to come up with a plan they could work on to remain proactive. The issue was that there wasn’t much of anything they could do without Emile. So as the conversation turned to focusing on trying to find him, even the ones who hadn’t been involved in the previous conversation had joined back in. 

“We saw the direction she flew off in, all we have to do is go that way!” Roman began, gesturing off in a direction.

“How the hell would that work? We can’t just start walking and hope we run into him!” Remy argued back.

“We wouldn’t just  _walk_. But at least we have a start!” Roman returned, scowling a bit. 

“…Come on guys. We’re all trying to work together..” Patton piped up.

“Ro, the chances that we’ll just  _find_ him are pretty low.” Declan added.

Roman just rolled his eyes. “Oh of course you’re gonna agree with your boyfriend.” 

“I’m not agreeing with him because he’s my boyfriend! It’s just a valid point! There’s nothing we can do! I don’t even think he wants to be found!” Declan argued back, looking at Roman. 

“What the hell does that mean?” The popstar crossed his arms.

“I already tried tracking his phone, the last place it was active was in his office. He turned it off before he even came outside.” Declan explained, the fire leaving his tone as he admitted it.

“…You can track our phones?” Virgil asked, looking at him a bit fearfully. 

“Only in emergencies, not just.. All the time.” Declan quickly tried to quell his fears. 

Roman was still frustrated, just signing and turning to Logan. “Lo, what do you think?” 

The professor had been lost in thought, relying on his own brain power to come up with something rather than along with the group. His cat ears twitched as the question was directed to him, his eyes snapping up to meet Roman’s. “…Hmm? Sorry? What was the question?” 

“I say, we saw which way she took him, we can just start in that direction.” He said, looking at his boyfriend. 

Remy and Declan both looked ready to repeat their arguments, but Logan responded. “…It’s not a bad point. We would just need… Infrared cameras? A helicopter?” He pondered. 

“Yeah, and how the hell are we supposed to ge-” Remy began, taking that as a win.

“You think I can’t get a helicopter?” Roman raised an eyebrow, quickly extinguishing Remy’s argument. 

“Why the f-” Declan was cut off by a noise from the sliding glass door to the balcony. 

_TAP TAP TAP_

They all turned to the glass, first noticing that they had apparently been arguing well into the night, and secondly that there were two people standing there on the other side of the door. 

All six of them stared in disbelief at the therapist standing on the balcony, waving at them. It took a moment before Remy managed to get up and walk over to the door, opening it and letting them both in. Of course they were shocked to see Emile just suddenly back and standing in the living room… But the fact that the Dragon Witch had just followed him inside and was standing behind him with her arms crossed was also a pretty big surprise. 

It was extremely silent in the room for a long moment, all eyes on the woman who was very pointedly not looking at them, and very obviously didn’t seem to want to be there. Emile just let out a little breath before steeling his nerves and putting a hand on her shoulder before gesturing around the room. 

“Soo.. Everyone! I’d like you to meet Simone. …My older sister.” Emile began, Simone giving them a very half hearted wave. Eyes only widened, suddenly taking in the details that made her look distinctly Picani. The slightly wild red hair, round cheeks.. Definitely not things any of them would have thought to look at before. “And, Simone these are my friends.” Emile began to gesture around the room from their left to their right. “Remy, Virgil, Declan, Logan, and Roman.” 

Her slit-pupiled eyes traveled over them lazily as Emile named them, but she paused on Roman with a bit of shock. “Oh. That’s… I forgot that he was ide-” 

Emile very quickly cut her off, talking quickly, awkwardly. “I know it’s so weird right! He’s like this super famous celebrity but he’s just right there and he’s our friend! Isn’t that so cool?!” 

Simone just looked back at her brother with a raised eyebrow, it not hard to see that he was trying to prevent her from finishing the thought. “….yeah. Sure.” She scoffed. 

Everyone definitely knew that there was something there… But Emile kept talking. “Uh, Anyway… Yeah. This is my sister and um.. I have a lot to explain. But.. Long story short? I’m alright.. The two of us kind of needed to talk some stuff out and I think we’re on a path to make things better.” 

“….So.. We are going just going to ignore everything that’s happened up to this point? Is that.. What you are asking us to do?” Remy asked, also crossing his arms, him and Simone looking over each other with a perfectly matched level of sass. 

“There’s more going on than we realized. What’s happened has been out of necessity and.. I’m going to work on helping things change so this doesn’t happen anymore. Starting with..” Emile turned to Roman. “…Hey Ro, do you have any cash on you that I could borrow?” 

“Borrow?” Roman raised an eyebrow with a little laugh. “Uh, yeah? I should have a little bit.” 

Emile just lifted his hands close to each other in front of his chest in a universal ‘toss it here’ kind of gesture, Roman responding by shifting to get his wallet out of his pocket and tossing it over to Emile. 

The therapist caught it with a nod and opened it up, pulling out the several hundred dollars that Roman had just referred to as ‘a little bit’ and putting it into Simone’s hands. “…Start with this, okay? I’m going to find a way to help you more.. But for now, this is all I can do.”

She definitely looked surprised, but thinking about all the mutants at home that she looked after, she couldn’t turn down that kind of money… The amount of food that could get them was extremely substantial. “…Thank you.” 

“Is there a way I can contact you? I want to be able to get more to you.” He said, watching as she carefully tucked the money into her pocket. 

“Not that I can think of.” She answered with a bit of a shrug. 

Declan suddenly piped up. “…I think I can take care of that. But uh.. How about a bit of a trade?” He asked, looking at the Picani siblings. 

“A trade?” Emile asked, turning to him. 

“Yeah… I can give her a communicator.. If she fixes us.” He let out a breath of laughter. 

“Fixes? What do you..” Emile was confused, but it was at that point that he realized he’d been so focused on his sister and the situation that he hadn’t noticed several very pertinent things. …The scales on Virgil’s faces… Patton’s pupil-less eyes… Logan’s cat ears. Oh. 

“…What?” Simone asked, not exactly in the loop. 

“You swapped our powers.” Remy explained, gesturing around the room. “Before you flew off.” 

Simone seemed to think back to the moment, bringing her knuckle to her lips as she considered. “…Huh. I did that? …I didn’t know I could do that.” 

“….. _fuck_.” Remy whispered softly, but with feeling.


	37. Admitting

“…You didn’t know you could do that?” Declan was first to speak up amongst the slightly stunned silence. 

“Nope. I mean, I can do a lot of different stuff. I’ve never done anything specifically like that before. …Huh. That’s pretty cool.” Simone answered, shrugging. 

“…So.. You don’t know how to undo it?” Virgil asked, his voice very soft. Patton immediately reached to take his best friend’s hand, trying to calm him down. 

The winged woman just shrugged again. “I mean, I guess not  _technically_.” Her eyes fell on Virgil, definitely noting his immediate anxiety. “…But hey, If I did it once I’m sure I can make it happen again.” 

“…In theory that should follow. We just need to recreate the circumstances.” Logan added, nodding a bit. 

“Great. Because I need to get my powers back before this event, I have a lot of things I need to get underway.” Roman said, looking around the room. “There is no way I’m going to be able to face my whole family all swapped like this.” 

Simone opened her mouth to respond to that choice of words, but once again was cut off by a frantic Emile. “Yeah for sure we can totally work on fixing this and getting everyone squared away! So Simone if you are going to stay here for a little bit how about I show you where the bathrooms are!” He quickly took her hand and tugged her off down the hallway, disappearing into the large bathroom across from Patton’s room and closing the door.

The other six all just blinked, looking around at each other in confusion. 

Simone pulled out of Emile’s grasp, looking back at him once the door was closed. “What the hell was that about?” She asked, a bit annoyed.

Emile was awkwardly ringing his hands. “I.. I’m not ready to talk to Roman about Remus.” He admitted softly. 

Her large eyes narrowed. “What does that even mean? He’s the one who let him end up in the sewer!” She whisper-yelled back. 

“…I.. I don’t know that he.. But I…” He trailed off. “…You said.. Remus ‘came with the building.’ What did you mean by that?” 

“He was already there when we found the place. He just popped right out of one of the manholes and introduced himself. …You can’t help but see the resemblance. Marq brought it up and Ree got furious… We never said anything about it again.” Simone explained. 

“…Why doesn’t he stay with you all inside?” Emile found himself asking.

“He doesn’t want to. We’ve offered, but he seems to prefer it down there. He has that setup of manholes, so he pops in whenever and wherever he wants to.. He’s just a bit of a weird guy.” She answered with another shrug, but quickly snapped back to remembering what was going on after a moment. “…But whatever. What does that matter?” 

Emile sighed. “I.. I’m just not sure if Roman knows about him. I…”  _I don’t want to believe it_. “I.. I don’t think he does. Just from.. I know him fairly well, he wouldn’t… There’s no way.. I just want to bring it up to him myself, okay? I…”  _I don’t want to think he’s capable of that._  “..I want to be delicate about it.” 

Simone looked over her younger brother for a few moments before just huffing and tossing her hair over her shoulder. “…Fine. I won’t say anything, alright? But you better do something. Sooner rather than later.” 

“I.. I’ll try. I’ll.. I will.” He nodded, looking back with an appreciative smile. “..Thank you.” 

“…Whatever. Come on, it’s weird that we’re in here. Let’s get back out there and work on this dumb issue or whatever so I can leave.” She huffed, turning back for the door. 

Simone headed back out to the group, Emile at her heels. The rest of them still all looked very confused and rather curious, but it didn’t seem like either Picani planned to provide them with any additional information. 

“So. Where do we start?” She asked, looking over them and eventually letting her gaze settle on Logan, it clear to her that he was the brains of this operation. 

The fact that all other eyes in the room also seemed to land on the professor definitely validated her thought process. 

“We’re going to have to see if we can recreate the perimeters of the situation. You stated you didn’t know you could perform that particular spell, so it’s just going to be attempting to get it do as it did before. …I have to assume it had something to do with how it bounced around..” Logan’s eyes fell on Roman before turning to Declan. “Inside a large diamond structure. Perhaps that amplified it somehow.” Logan surmised, looking over all of them.   
  
Declan’s eyes widened, remembering that when this happened before, it completely knocked Roman out. …And now it was going to be his turn. Remy just took his hand, lacing their fingers together and causing him to look up to see his boyfriend giving him a reassuring little nod. Declan just gave his hand a little squeeze back… He’d manage.

“Alright, well.. I’ll give it a shot. But if we don’t figure this out by sunrise, we have to try again tomorrow night.” Simone nodded, agreeing to attempt to fix this.


	38. Attempt

The idea to have Simone practice the spell they’d need in the gym had been Logan’s, seeing as it was a large predominantly open space with somewhat padded floors. It was then an immediately unanimous decision to have Logan go with the two Picanis to try and figure out how exactly they’d be able to recreate the situation that had befallen them at the campus that morning. And while unspoken, it was pretty clear they all believed that they’d need whoever had the diamond powers to act as their amplifying crystal, which Declan was more than a bit concerned about - seeing as it had knocked Roman fully unconscious when they’d done it to him. But whatever it took, he’d do what needed doing. 

In the mean time, Roman went off to the computer room to start making appointments and reservations for his upcoming event preparations, he had decided that since they were about to be back to normal anyway… He might as well get a jump on it. The popstar made sure to schedule them for at least a week out, however. While he was sure they were on track to get back to normal, he wanted to be cautious just in case. 

With Patton deciding to head to the kitchen and start making them all a midnight snack, Virgil was suddenly alone with Declan and Remy in the living room. This in and of itself wasn’t a problem, but he definitely had a little spike of anxiety when Declan whispered something into the barista’s ear and then the two of them approached him. 

“Hey Virge, I wanted to talk to you about something.” Declan said simply, looking over him. It was strange to look over his twin’s best friend while he was like this.. Something about seeing his scales on someone else was just exceptionally weird.

“Uh, ok. About what?” He asked, unsure what he could have done, or why he was being inspected. 

“Tell me, how do you powers work? Like, how do you use them?” He asked, surprising the college student. 

“My powers? Like..” He glanced at Remy, knowing that the taller man currently had them. “I guess.. They are sort’ve connected to my emotions in a way. It’s like… They tie in to ways I’m feeling, and then I can associate the way it feels with a certain type of weather? If that makes sense?” 

Declan nodded, giving Remy a strange look before looking back to Virgil. “So… You usually do like, clouds and lighting and stuff. Are those just easier?” 

“…Sort’ve. Those are kind of.. Defense mechanisms, I guess? Usually when I’m nervous or anxious, that happens. …And since I am a lot of the time, it’s really easy to draw on the way I’d need to feel to make it happen.” He explained to the best of his ability. 

“Do you know how to do all kinds of weather then? Like, if you were really like.. I don’t know… Sad. What would happen?” He asked, raising a curious eyebrow. 

“Well.. I kind of try my best not to feel anything too strongly. I developed my powers a little bit later than the average mutant, I think. So I haven’t had quite as much time to figure it all out… And I don’t want to just… Try things out in case something really dangerous happens…” Virgil explained, somewhat mumbling to himself more than really talking. 

Declan listened, taking it in for a moment before he clapped his hand onto Remy’s shoulder, the solid sound of his hand coming down onto the leather of his jacket bringing both of their attention back to him. “Well, we found out today that anger is directly related to the temperature.” He said with a laugh. 

Remy immediately groaned and threw his head back, obviously embarrassed. Virgil raised an eyebrow, a cautious smirk playing at his lips. “…Yeah?” 

“Oh yeah. Turns out someone is the jealous type… Might have caused a pretty nice little heatwave today.” Declan teased, Remy’s cheeks darkening as he crossed his arms. 

Virgil let out a little laugh, looking over Remy. “Are you sure it wasn’t jealousy that did it?” He added in, only adding to the barista’s little pouting. 

It took them a good few moments, and several more playful teases, to notice, but it soon became apparent that through the open door to the balcony outside, a blanket of fog was rolling in. 

Declan quickly reached over, playing swatting at Virgil’s arm. “Look! Are you writing this down, you should be writing this down!” 

The student just smiled wider, laughing a bit more as he realized what had caused it. Declan pushed up onto his toes, kissing his boyfriend on the cheek. “Sorry, sorry. We’re just teasing, love. No need to get all foggy about it.” He laughed, looping his arms around Remy’s waist. 

Remy just softly rolled his eyes, exaggeratedly sighing as he put an arm around him. “Its fine… In the name of science or whatever.” 

“Definitely.” 

The three of them talked a bit more, laying off the newly discovered power of embarrassment and seeing the fog dissipate. Patton joined them after a bit with a fresh batch a cookies, them just dissolving into normal conversation while they waited on everyone else.

It didn’t take as long for Roman to join them as it did for the Picanis and Logan to emerge from the popstar’s home gym. But once they’d all gathered back in the living room, they realized it was about to be time to give it a shot. 

“So… You’re sure this is going to work?” Virgil asked, obviously and understandably nervous. 

“Yeah, I’m pretty confident. Logan worked out exactly how and where I’m going to have to do it, as far as aiming on the diamond goes. And once I figured out the spell… It’s just doing it again?” Simone shrugged, her wings absently spreading as she did so. 

“Well… Better get to it..” Declan mumbled, looking down at his hands and slowly willing the diamond to over take him completely. 

Roman watched with interest, never having seen the change from this perspective before. 

“…How did you master Roman’s powers so quickly?” Logan asked, surprised at how he’d actually been able to completely change over so easily.

Declan looked over to Logan, still fully diamond and his voice doing with the strange tinny sound to it. “His and mine are kinda similar, I guess? It’s just… Willing the change to kind of happen, kinda like how my transforming sorta feels to do.” He shrugged. 

“…Interesting.” Logan brought his hand to his chin, cat ears twitching as he did so. 

“Yes, yes, it’s all very  _fascinating_ , specs. Now come on, let’s get over with.” Simone rolled her eyes, moving into position to stand in front of Declan. 

Remy couldn’t help but look over at Roman, mouthing the words: “ _Oh my god, I love her.”_

Roman smirked, mouthing back. “ _She’s kind of great._ ” 

They all stood behind Declan in a vaguely half circle shape, Emile safely behind his sister so he didn’t get wrapped up in the switch. 

“Ready?” Simone asked, looking over the six in front of her. 

After collective nods and a slightly nervous “…yeah.” from Declan, Simone raised her hands and concentrated a moment, shooting another beam of her power directly into the diamond Declan. Now that they were all able to pay attention, all of them were relatively transfixed on watching the power bouncing around the diamond structure, amplifying and splitting. It surprised all of them as it finally broke free from him, once again hitting them all. 

Remy was first to rush forward, going to catch Declan before he hit the ground from how draining it had been on him. But as they all looked down at the fainted boy in his boyfriend’s arms, there was a rush of relief that went through all of them, seeing those familiar yellow scales back where they belonged. 

“It worked!” Cheered Patton, giddily looking at his brother. 

It was only a moment before that relief quickly vanished from all of them, replaced with a strong feeling of annoyance that none of them knew the source of. It seemed out of place for the moment…

“Damn it!” Roman cursed, looking down at his hands. They all looked to the popstar, seeing frustration on his face that matched the feeling that was coursing through all of them… And familiar cat ears poking out of his wavy blonde locks. 


	39. Problems 1 & 2

Simone just looked around, seeing that the configuration was obviously still not quite right. All of them had looks of annoyance on their faces and were looking at Roman who was solely focused on his own hands. 

“Roman. Calm down.” Came Remy’s voice, his tone obviously irritated.

“What? I’m not allowed to be frustrated?!” He answered back, growing more upset - which everyone around immediately also felt, but they were surprised to feel the anger quickly die down as Roman’s gaze met Remy’s. “…Oh damn, Rem. Those eyes.”  

Remy raised an eyebrow and swept his gaze over the group, not realizing what had happened until he and Logan made eye contact, them both realizing that the two of them had swapped directly. The barista pulled out his phone to get a look at himself. “Ooo… I do not mind these baby blues. Not one bit.” 

Simone glanced out onto the balcony, seeing that it wouldn’t be long before the sun rose… They’d been at this pretty much all night. She cleared her throat to get the attention back on her. “Well, good news bad news time. I think I’ve got it. I know what I need to do to get you all back to normal.. But it’s gonna have to be after sunset. I’ve got to head back before it gets light out. So just have whichever of you is the diamond one ready when I get back and we should be able to get this sorted out.” She said, starting toward the balcony door. 

A sudden wave of concern washed over the room and, once again, all eyes turned to Roman. He didn’t look visibly worried, but there was no doubt that he very much was. “…You’re definitely going to be back though, right?” 

She turned back to see him, several feelings and responses trying to bubble to the surface and escape… Looking at that face just made her want to… But he was nervous. She could feel it. Her own feelings on the matter would have to wait. “…Yes. I will, you have my word. But I need to go back for now.” She gave Roman a single solid nod and the entire room felt the worry subside somewhat as he nodded in return. 

“…Thank you. See you tonight.” He answered softly. And with that, she headed through the door and they all watched as she ascended into the sky with a few beats of her mighty dragon wings. 

Logan crossed his arms with a soft sigh before turning his golden, pupilless eyes on Patton and Virgil. The two young men had no obvious mutations, meaning one of them was going to have to act as their amplifying crystal. “…Between the two of you, one of you must have Roman’s ability. We’ll need to ensure you are prepared to use his power before she returns tonight.” He said simply, looking over them. 

Patton and Virgil looked at each other and then down at their hands, but nothing seemed to happen. Logically, Logan realized immediately that that had to mean that Virgil had to have had Roman’s diamond ability and Patton had Virgil’s weather control, or Virgil would have been able to use his own power rather simply. But unfortunately, not everyone’s mind was as quick as Logan’s. 

“Then how do we know who’s who?” Roman asked, turning to the group. 

Logan opened his mouth to explain, but Remy was faster. “Oh! I know!” The barista piped up, looking down at his hands. Before Logan had a chance to react, Remy had conjured a handful of tiny pebbles of ice - not unlike the sand he normally controlled, and flung it at the pair of friends. 

Virgil’s eyes widened and he quickly brought up his arms to protect his face, the ice clinking off his suddenly shining hands. Patton had somehow managed to shoot off of the floor in a gust of wind, dodging the projectiles.. But it was very immediately apparent that he didn’t actually know how to fly. Thankfully, the only thing around that was as fast as Logan’s mind were Roman’s reflexes, and he rushed forward to catch the boy as he flailed through the air. 

Once that debacle had calmed, Patton caught in Roman’s arms and Virgil peaking out from between his fingers, Logan just let out a long suffering sigh. “…Was that truly necessary? It was rather apparent that Virgil didn’t have his own powers if he hadn’t already shown he could use them.” 

Remy mulled that over for a moment. “…Huh. I guess that’s fair.” He shrugged. 

“Well at least we figured it out!” Patton said happily, still laying in Roman’s arms. 

“…You could have gotten pretty hurt, Patton.” Virgil finally spoke up, lowering his hands that had already gone back to normal. 

“No, I’m sure I would have been fine!” The young man giggled, looking back up at the popstar who currently had his powers. “Roman and his cat-like reflexes came to the rescue!” 

The room fell into a mixture of chuckles and groans, but at least they’d made some progress. Well, some progress meaning that they’d figured something out about what needed to happen. There was absolutely no progress in either of their two main problems. The first of which was the fact that.. 

“Oh no. Oh no oh no no no no…” Virgil brought his hands up to his cheeks, eyes wide, and face paling rapidly. 

They all turned to the college student, completely unsure what was wrong. Either way, Roman was quick to put Patton down, it was clear that his best friend was the best at helping him when he had these issues. 

Patton was moving the moment his feet hit the floor, going over to Virgil and softly taking his hand. “Hey, Virge.. It’s gonna be alright. We’re gonna fix it.. It’s all gonna be okay.” he said softly.

Virgil stayed tense, looking back at Patton. “No! No it’s not! Because now it’s all relying on me! I have to figure out how to do the diamond thing or we can’t get back to normal!” 

“And you’ll be able to figure it out… I’m sure Roman and even Declan could try and help you. You’ll be able to do it.” Patton tried again. 

“It’s just… It’s so important and we need it or we’re never gonna get back to normal! And it’s all on me!” Virgil argued back, but that was when Roman stepped a bit closer. 

“Virgil, it’s gonna be alright! I’m sure I can help you! You can do it, I know you can!” The popstar assured, and Virgil was immediately going to protest… But this was where their second problem came into play. 

There was an actual swell of confidence that welled up in all of them, matching the determination seen on Roman’s face. Virgil couldn’t help but give him a bit of a smile in return, nodding with his encouragement. 

Emile watched from his position, still standing a bit further from the group. He’d been easily about to observe what had been happening.. But strangely, and luckily, enough, he wasn’t feeling it like everyone else was. So it seemed that this was going to be something he needed to help with. 

The therapist moved over to the popstar, looking up at him slightly. “…Roman, would you mind if I asked you something?” 

Roman turned to him with a smile. “Not at all, what’s up?” 

Emile tilted his head slightly, looking at him curiously. “…Are you.. Are you doing this on purpose?” 

Confidence was immediately replaced with confusion. “Doing what on purpose?” 

“…I see. Well.. I believe Virgil might not be the only one in need of assistance with their newfound powers.” Emile said with a little smile. 

“Huh?” Roman was still not at all aware of what was happening. 

“You’re making us feel everything you do! Jeez, it’s like you’re throwing darts and pushing whatever they land on!” Remy lamented, crossing his arms. 

“…I am?” 

“It’s quite strange.. I had an excess of difficulty using Patton’s powers on purpose. But you are using them extremely adeptly completely on accident.” Logan brought his hand to his chin, thinking it over. 

Roman turned to Patton. “I don’t even realize I’m doing it. I.. How do I stop?” 

“Usually.. I mean, I have to be feeling something extremely strongly to do it on accident. I.. I guess you just feel things really intensely?” Patton shrugged, unsure how to offer much more on the matter. 

“I guess? I’ve never really thought about it, but uh.. If that’s what’s happening.. I can try and stay calm?” Roman said, his plan undercut by the fact that they could all feel his embarrassment. 

Patton happened to glance up at the clock, his eyes widening. “Oh my goodness gracious, it’s nearly breakfast time! We need to get some sleep, we’ve been up all night!” 

“…There’s enough beds for everyone if most of us double up.” Roman glanced around the room. 

“I’ll get this one to bed, see you all in a few hours.” Remy nodded, scooping his still knocked out boy into his arms and walking him off to his bedroom. 

Virgil had another spike of anxiety, it occurring to him that if he did manage to figure out Roman’s powers… That was going to happen to him as well. But before his thoughts could spiral, his best friend had grabbed his hand. “You can room with me, Virge! Come on!” And the eager young man tugged him off to his room. 

Logan was a little hot in the cheeks, watching as Roman turned to Emile. “The spare bedroom is just down that hallway, it’s all your’s.” 

“Thank you, Roman. See you both in a little while!” The therapist smiled, turning to head off and take the guest room. 

Roman finally turned to his boyfriend. “Come on, Lo. You’re bunking with me.” He laughed lightly, taking off down the hallway toward his room. 

The professor nodded, following his famous boyfriend, that warmth he was feeling apparently not planning to subside.


End file.
